as we go through the journey called life...

Saying Goodbye

2006-07-25T13:37:00.000-04:00

And so the wedding was over, still our journey continues.

Our wedding album and dvd was delivered last week, we'll be able to see it on May next year when we go home for a vacation. The album and dvds were the last pieces to complete the wedding, and now it has been completed. It is time to say goodbye to this blog since this has been dedicated for the wedding itself, the marriage is a different thing.

Thanks to all who have helped us commence our journey, we know that you will be with us all the way. I will miss posting stuffs about the wedding, but there's none to post anymore.

So this is goodbye, for those who want to catch up, just check my other blog at friendster here.

Wedding Pictures Slideshow

2006-06-09T12:22:00.000-04:00

Since being a housewife, I don't know what to do much of my time... so just to be productive... I made a slideshow of our Wedding pictures by Paul Vincent to share with my friends and family. I sure hope you finish it up to the credits... It's kind of a long one...but please bear with me... am just an amateur at this.

and more album layouts

2006-05-25T20:15:00.000-04:00

...so here's the last part of the album layouts, from pages 21-40.. the album is a coffeetable book so we wanted the layout as simple and classy as possible.... and we think they were great... here are layouts for the ceremony in order of appearance..

and here are the last pages..

More Layouts..

2006-05-23T20:17:00.000-04:00

here are pages from 11-20

Album Layouts

2006-05-23T18:31:00.000-04:00

Sorry people, I haven't updated in a while, there were not much activities in my married life as I am a housewife as of the moment. I just receive the album layouts from ate Dang, our Main Photographer and I want to share them with you. Comments are welcome as they are not final still, help me make 'em close to perfect. :)

Pre Nup pictorial at La Mesa Eco Park

2006-04-06T23:29:00.000-04:00

I am sooo sorry to post the pre nup pics so late... i even posted the ratings first.. I can't believe myself..

Anyhow, we had our pre nuptial pictorials with the San Miguel Studio at the La Mesa Eco Park... it was wonderful...

We first scheduled our pictorials at the Palace to familiarize ourselves with the place...but hubby and I thought that it would be great to have the pictorials somewhere else so we get to have pictures apart from those at the Palace during the wedding... Our first choice was at the UP Diliman grounds but it was UP fair that time so we can't do it there... Luckily, the photo/video owner has a sister to wed after us and they were also looking for some place so we choose La Mesa Eco Park, I haven't been to that place before but a lot of w@wies had their pre-nups there and they said that it's a pretty place...well, it's not pretty at all... it's BEAUTIFUL!!!

Actually the pics are still in proof (would you believe that upto now I still don't have the actual pictures?) I forgot to get a cd when I was still in Manila so I had it sent over to my email...so I got the proofs first, and the cd will b shipped over in about a month... will post the pics as soon as they are in my hands.. =)

Suppliers' Rating

2006-03-21T23:12:00.000-05:00

It has been almost a month since the wedding and it’s only now that I got myself to do the long awaited suppliers’ rating, I really am so sorry I wasn't able to do it on an earlier time. I’ve been busy moving (and by moving I meant from one country to another) and adjusting to this so called married life as a housewife (not a working wife…sigh).

So here it is with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Venue: THE COCONUT PALACE
Contact Person: Mabel Ferrer
Contact Number: 0918-9462235

Rating: 9

The Palace was great, beautiful and very spacious. CP is recommended for big weddings. We got our sunset garden wedding but at 4pm the sun was still too high making it impossible to start the ceremony, so we started at 4:30, but still it is too hot (notice the pictures when the guests are covering their faces with the misalettes).

I could have given a 10 rating but they charged us on the day for an additional 50 people because our reservations with Josiah’s was 250 and we just reserved 200 with them. This could have been fine, only, there were less than 250 people who came, but we paid for that extra on the day anyway, they should have just asked Josiah’s of the actual head count, but they won’t, they insisted to have us pay the 50 extra.

Well, I could have given them a 6 because of that, but they didn’t charge us the electrical for the Band Facilities which the band brought in with them, that’s a P4,000 discount.

Caterer: Josiah’s Catering
Contact Person: Nancy/Mherlyn/Maui
Contact #: 631-4145

Rating: 10+
Credits to: Melissa ni Rommel

Everybody loved the food! They were just soo thrilled with the Mongolian Barbeque and the crepes. The arrangement was fantastic, the flowers are lovely and very much alive. The waiters are very courteous. We kind of got the package at a discount of being a w@wie and we had a roll back from their 2005 to 2004 package prices for Coconut Palace so it’s a great deal.

Gowns: Tet Hagape Bridal Shop
Contact #: 09178325285

Rating: 7

She worked just fine and she is very nice, plus she doesn’t charge too much. Problem is, she always re-schedule fittings and she was late on the day. Her call time was 2pm and she got at the hotel at 2:20 I think, basta sila Clarice ang nagbihis sakin, it just so happened that when Clarice and her staff are quite finished she came in to stitch here and there…take a picture. Wait, there’s more, she delivered my gown at 10pm prior to the wedding, but she left the secondary veil, secondary chord, Bible cover and pouch so she just delivered it when she got at the hotel by 2:20pm on the day! Geez, wala tuloy picture yung pouch ko and the chord, eto pa, she even asked me if I like a rosary for a chord, I said no coz we are not Roman Catholics, but when she gave it to clarice, well what do we expect, it’s a rosary! Buti na lang na check ni Clarice, tinanggal na lang nya yung Cross. And late din yung 1 gown ko, that’s for the Tarlac celebration, she just left it at the Diamond Hotel Concierge kasi we are at the reception na nung deliver nya.

Bride’s Shoes: Ferretti
Sta. Lucia Mall

Rating: 10

Bought it about a week before the wedding. I was actually looking for a comfortable pair even since last November but I wasn’t that fortunate. This pair is very comfortable, the leather is soft, the heels are not too high and my feet didn’t hurt at all amidst the running around.

Groom’s Barong: EXCLUSIVELY HIS
Contact Person: Rema of Sta. Lucia Branch

Rating: 9

I ordered Cent’s barong 2 weeks before the wedding and used his old sukat kasi sa US pa sya nun, I just added ½ inch allowance kasi tumaba sya. I had them copy a barong in my magazine and they did it perfectly, gayang gaya with no extra cost. I say it’s lovely, but ayaw ni Cent yung tahi ng collar kasi did daw round, naiilang sya.

Groom’s Shoes: Kenneth Cole
Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh

Rating: 10++

Hubby was actually surprised that for a new pair of shoes his feet didn’t hurt at all.

Groom’s Pants: Nike Golf (Tiger Woods)

Rating: 10++

Excellent fit!

Flowers and Ceremony Stylist: LOVE IN BLOOM
Contact Person: Jocelyn Pafin (Owner)
Contact #: 0906-2537271

Rating for the flowers: 10++
Rating for the Supplier: 7

The flowers are very lively and lovely, wala akong masabi, everybody said that ang gaganda daw ng flowers. Sa contract namin I just ordered wristers for the Bridesmaids and the Secondary Sponsors, but come that day, lahat naging mini boquet, so I’m so thankful. But yung ceremony flowers ko should be all white calla lilies, pero yung aisle lang ang nasunod, the arch and the gazebo were full of red and white roses which are lovely din naman, and there are additional flowers at the foot of the aisle flowers which I didn’t order but looked lovely also.

Ate jo’s call time is 12 noon, but she delivered the flowers at the hotel at around 1:30pm pa, so ang tagal namin naghintay for the pictures. And as per Clarice, late na din daw sila nag setup sa Coconut which may have been because of the heat.

Main Photo/Video: San Miguel Studio (of Tarlac)
Contact Person: Dang Hate (Owner)
Contact #: danghate@yahoo.com ; 0917-8130234

Rating: 9

Package inclusions: 3 Photographers, 2 Video, 1 Mini Album (which we got already), 1 12x14 Digital Album, unlimited shots, pre-nup at la mesa eco park, 1 huge avp.

Dang is hubby’s kababata from Tarlac so we got her and she gave us a huge discount so we were elated when she gave us the price. I actually didn’t like her samples so got Paul Vincent for backup, but when pre-nup came, galing pala ng main Photog nya si Ryan, he’s from UP Film kaya ang galing ng shots, but the second photog, Kenneth is very provinciano (styles).

Sa laki and dami ng binigay nya sobrang tuwang tuwa na kami, but I couldn’t give a 10 kasi iba talaga yung shots from Paul Vincent and mas nagustuhan naming yun.

Back up Photog: Paul Vincent Photography
Contact Person: Paul Vincent himself
Contact #: 09184153195, www.photonski.com/paulvincent

Rating: 10+++
Credits to: Jacque ni Simon

Package: Photo Coverage only as back up, Paul as photographer, unlimited shots

Paul is just so great, daling kausap, sarap kausap actually, galing ng style nya and sobrang mahal sya ng mga tao. Everyone who saw our pictures sa website nya texted us to say that the pictures were so great, dami pa nagsabi siguro daw mahal yun… di lang nila alam 8k lang yun… Got him from Jacque ni Simon pala… thanks girl!

Wedding Rings: KAY JEWELERS
NorthGate Mall, Durham, NC

Rating: 10

Package Inclusions: Men’s – 10 diamonds, Lady’s – 12 diamonds, with Free Cleaning 2x a year and unlimited free re-sizing.

Nahalughog na ata naming lahat ng mall sa Raleigh and Durham just to find a ring that matches the engagement ring Cent gave me (pati color and clarity ha) and we are just so elated nung nakita naming sya, fits perfectly, matches with my e-ring and passed Cent’s standards. =)

Coordinator: An Event To Remember
Contact Person: Clarice Aviñante
Contact #: 0920-9266471

Rating: 10+
Credits to: Jacque ni Simon

Sobrang heaven sent si Clarice sa kasal namin. It was only a month before the wedding when my previous coordinator cancelled so I was in so much panic that I called up the first OTD I saw here in our yahoo group. Di na nga nila sana ako ia-accommodate but naawa sakin si Clarice when I called her up kasi sobrang iiyak na talaga ako. She’s more than just a coordinator, she’s like a maid of honor, a shock absorber, kakwentuhan about the wedding preps and sobrang nakaka relate sya sa lahat.

On the day pala I freaked out and Clarice was the one who comforted me, sobrang thankful ako sa kanya and her staff. I just can’t add another + kasi medyo may kamahalan, yung iba kasing natanong ko pag 1 month before na lang is 10K na lang. But worth it naman.

Wedding Cake: Judy Uson

Rating: 10

I didn’t order na my personalized cake coz I figured I can use the money for other things for the wedding, but I didn’t go wrong naman, the cake tasted great, it looks good din naman.

Sponsor’s Gifts: Wedding Channel
Weddingchannel.com

Rating: 10++

Wine Stopper for Men, Mini Cheese Grater for the Ladies, and Place card holders

The items were great for gifts and they can actually use ‘em. We got ‘em on sale and we were a bit surprised when we got them because we got a lot more than we paid. =)

Ento Gifts: Wedding Channel
Weddingchannel.com

Rating: 10++

Dolphin Bottle Opener for Men, Beveled Heart Compact for the Ladies

Again the items are great but we paid more this time coz the items were not on sale, but they are still great though, we got the value for our money.

Invitation: PRINTLANE, Recto
Contact Person: Tata
Contact # : 735-0362; 7360416

Rating: 10
Credits to: Maricel ni Arnold

120 pcs invitations, with 150 pcs square tags.

My guests said the invitations looked lovely and didn’t looked as though it was made from Recto coz it’s very classy. Medyo 1 month lang ang inabot coz they still ordered the paper they used, medyo mahirap daw kasi bilhin yun. Tata is also very nice and talagang he knows what he’s doing. This supplier was recommended by Marical ni Arnold, thanks a lot sis!

Wax Seal: Wedding Library

Rating: 10

Wooden handle, metal stamp

It added class to my elegant invitation at a cheap price.

Faux Wax Seal: Seasoncreations.com

Rating: 10++

85 pcs solid red faux wax sticks

Sobrang mura and daling gamitin, dami pa ngang natira. =)

Misalette: DIY

Rating: 9

I could have done better but I have so little time, di na sana ako gagawa kasi parang di naman magagamit, but Clarice said just to give an outline, so I did it the day before, just hours before we checked in at the hotel. Well, as you can see, ginamit naman pantakip ng face ng guests to keep out of the sun. Hehe..

Favours: LANDMARK

Rating: 10++

13 pcs big chimes, 129 pcs small chimes

The decorations were done by SIL’s officemate for free (Victoria Secret Lotion lang ang katapat)

Hair and Make UP: Marie Tangonan
Contact #: 09203735621

Rating: 10++

Bride + 6

She’s the make-up artist of Danarra Hotel in QC but she went freelance, a friend of my SIL who did my and my sister’s make up on my sister’s wedding (gulo noh).

Everybody said I looked beautiful (ear to ear smile) pati si Paul Vincent. A lot of other make up artists kasi don’t know kung pano yung hair na bagay sakin, there’s this one HMU I had a trial on and she made me look 10 years older, but ate marie just accentuated the natural me. She uses imported make ups such as clinique, marks and spencer, Revlon, Christian Dior and the likes kaya nagustuhan ko sya, imported make-ups pero di mahal maningil.

Entertainment: 6CYCLEMIND
Contact Person: Darwin Hernandez (Band Manager)
Contact #: 09178960108

Rating: 10++

1 set of 60 minutes, Band Facilities included

They are GREAT!!! Sobrang galing talaga ni Ney (vocalist) and also everyone on their group. Bob, their bassist is Bong’s friend from way back college, and one of our Secondary Sponsors so we got a good deal. May kasama pang autograph. Hehe.

Inunahan pa kami ng guests to take a picture of them and ang dami nag sabi na dapat daw we informed them so they could have bought a CD for their autograph..hehe… gawin bang concert ang kasal naming… =)

Emcee: Jodie Liwanag

Rating: 9

She’s part of the package we got from Josiah’s but we initially asked for either Mallory or Melissa (daughters of Mabel of Coconut) but apparently they are not available on our wedding day. Jodie did fine, but she forgot to introduce one Prinicipal Sponsor who was actually on the table but she overlooked the name printed on her queue. She’s good, but I have seen and heard other emcees that are better.

Wedding Accessories: Home and Bridal Essentials
Contact Person: Gerri Diokno
Contact #: 09178999394

Rating: 10

Treasure Chest, Guestbook, Tiara, Unity Candles

They all looked lovely and in motif, the tulips were not deep red though but they were fine. Everybody loved the candles and I’m saving them up for our future home. =) I wasn’t able to use the tiara though (kahit gusto ko) coz Paul, Clarice and Marie said that I look great even without it, so I just said goodbye to my princessy tiara…

Hotel Accommodations: Manila Diamond Hotel

Rating: 10++

1 Superior Room for 2 nights
1 Executive Suite for 1 night with early check in

Their staffs are just so courteous I couldn’t say more, they gave in to all the requests I made and they even made nice comments when we were shooting at their lobby. Everybody there treated me and my family like royals.

Honeymoon: Alona Palm Beach Resort, Bohol
Thru PALAKBAYAN

Rating: 10++

We spent at least 10K during our stay for 3 days 2 nights for food, pasalubong and island hopping.
Credits to: Kuya Louie Agaran

The place is like heaven, the food is great, the pool is great, the beach is great, room is great, and everything is great! This resort is recommended to honeymooners on a budget.
The place is very secluded and quiet and there are lots to do here, badminton, table tennis, kayaking, canoeing, diving and massage.

There you go. Did I forget anything?

the one with the honeymoon

2006-03-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted for a while, we've been busy the past few weeks after the wedding. We've been packing and unpacking...and I've been doing some household chores as I don't have work as of the moment and might not have for the next few months. Left my PC at home back in the Philippines, it being a desktop so I don't have room for it in my luggage.

Anyway, here's a glimpse of the honeymoon:

More posts to come as soon as I finished doing my suppliers rating.. sorry girls... =/

the one with the wedding pics...

2006-03-01T05:09:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Finally the wedding is over. =) Hubby and I are in Honeymoon right now (Alona Palm). We just want you to get a glimpse of our wedding.

You may view the rest

here.

ano ba ito?!!!

2006-02-22T13:41:00.000-05:00

waaah!!! just 5 days to go...

STRESS!!!

gifts for the abays..

2006-02-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

One can never really know what to put into a wedding until only if it's too near. We have gifts for the Principal Sponsors already and bought them way back December of last year, but little did we know that we still have to buy for the remaining of the ento... so I searched online for possible gifts (cheap and useful) and found 'em at weddingchannel.com pa din....

So we ordered a dolphin bottle opener for the guys...

and a beveled heart compact for the ladies...

We also bought curved place card holder frames for the principal sponsors..

my wedding accessories

2006-02-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

I am a proud client of Home and Bridal Essentials (Ms. Gerri Diokno). Picked up my items a few days ago and they are soooo lovely... I couldn't take my tiara off my head even without the hair updo...I soo feel like a princess...
The treasure chest, guestbook and Unity candles are all set in red tulips, actually I requested for maroon colored tulips but those are not being sold in this season so we settled for the red and yellow tulips which came out nice. I couldn't help my self from taking a peek each day when I wake up, almost excited to wear it (tiara) and see them being used on my wedding day.

So to all readers out there, w@wies or not, you may contact Ms. Gerri Diokno through her website at the right sidebar of this blog. Every penny well spent. =)

Our honeymoon..

2006-01-25T22:26:00.000-05:00

Finally, my quest for finding a nice Honeymoon location is over, thanks to my fellow w@wies whose suggestions never ends...

So here it is, a Honeymoon at Alona Palm Beach Resort in Bohol!!!

We got our package from PALAKBAYAN for only P31,450 tours included. =)

a few updates..

2006-01-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

Just a few updates since I got back in Manila... days ago I was in panic since most of my suppliers haven't confirmed yet... but thanks to my fellow w@wies I got back to my feet and faced what has to be done...

1. Booked Paul Vincent Photography as my back-up photographer, paid P5k DP already, package as ffs (parang madami hehe):

PHOTO SERVICE ONLY P8,000
- unlimited creative digital shots
- Paul Vincent as photographer
- proofs stored in CD all printable
- 3 locations: preps, ceremony and reception.

Pagdatin ko pa lang, as in nasa stairs pa lang ako ng McDo when I saw them (Ivy - wife nya, and Jane (sis in law ni Jacque) sobrang at ease na ko sa kanya, but before meeting him I know na sya ang kukunin ko for back-up, kung pde nga lang MAIN na eh, I like his style kasi, me being a photojourn myself, tapos sobrang ok sila kausap, sobrang nagtatawanan na lang kami.

2. I already paid in full for the venue rental ++ at Coconut Palace last Friday, so wala na kong iisipin about that... haay sa wakas everything seems to be falling into place.

3. When I paid at CP, went to Westin na din to book and pay for the hotel accomodations. Pagdating ko pa lang sa front desk and told them na I'll book na, aba eh pinapunta pa ko sa corner to pick up the phone and talk to a reservations assistant. Ganun daw talaga ang procedure nila and it sucks! Goodness, andun na nga ako and am about to pay na din, tapos I still have to use a phone! So dahil masunurin ako, I did just that and after about 10 long minutes of waiting eh may sumagot din sa wakas. Dahil sa ka-bad tripan ko, di muna ako nag bayad, nag pa book lang.

And did I mention that they require a P5k for location fee para lang makapag pa picture sa Pool Side nila (not to mention the stairs na until now under rennovation pa din), so I went around muna just to see if the 5k is worth it. So ok naman yung poolside, actually maganda, pero masama ang loob ko sa P5k ha.

4. Finally I was able to contact Dang for my Main Photo and Video, actually their studio is in Tarlac, Dang is hubby's kababata so we got a good package at a very reasonable price. As in parang gift na lang nya samin yun. We finalized everything, pati schedule ng pre-nup. But, we were not able to talk about the payment terms, haha.. sobrang na excite ako nakalimutan ko kelan ako dapat magbayad. She even promised to finish the mini album in time for my flight to US. The rest, pahabol na lang.

5. I already booked our flight for our Honeymoon in Bohol, unfortunately PAL is unable to confirm reservations with Ananyana and Panglao Island Nature Resort, so try ko sa Alona Tropical and Alona Palm, but I know medyo mas pricey sa Alona Palm, well, hintay na lang siguro ako and cross my fingers na sana mag ok na, kasi naman 1 month na lang.

The Invites

2006-01-06T02:18:00.000-05:00

Ayan medyo madami akong post for today...

Here's our invitation from Printlane, Simple lang but my officemates said maganda daw sya... I could have gotten a more simple one I just saw a few days ago, but sad to say tapos na ang invitation namin and for distribution na sya...

Calligraphy will be done by my brother in law, the Wax Seal is from The Wedding Library in Megamall and we ordered the Faux Wax Seal in Crimson Red online.

Our actual Wedding Rings

2006-01-06T00:54:00.000-05:00

Things are getting into places now that we're only almost two months away... Now that I'm back in Pinas, I'm starting to take care of the final preparations..

Cent texted me that he just got the actual rings... we got that last Dec 21 (see last post) but was not able to bring it home for resizing, so here it is:

our wedding ring...

2005-12-20T22:55:00.000-05:00

Guess what?!!! We just bought our wedding rings today at Kay Jewelers in North Gate Mall at Durham. We were not really so into it until yesterday when we went to almost all Jewelry Shops at North Gate Mall and Crabtree Valley Mall. Cent is very meticulous about how the diamonds were cut and how they were set together, we saw one we liked yesterday at Helzberg plus the Sales person there was so nice, we were really coming back today but checked first at Kay Jewelers (sis company of Jared where we got the E-ring) and we found one we liked and is available, the others were like we have to order it without even seeing how it looked in white gold, most of what we saw are in yellow gold, platinum and titanium, last of which won't match at all with my E-ring, so we settled with white gold setting.

So here's the ring:

It's perfect for us, 11 diamonds set in 14k white gold wedding ring. We had a lot of choices before, but none are available within the budget in our area, or we have to have it customized in the Philippines, which we didn't do coz Cent didn't like how the diamonds are being set there and sometimes the diamonds are just yellowish.

We were not able to take them home though coz they are being resized, all in all, my supplier rating is a 10 (highest) coz the setting is very good, the diamonds are very good (some are just plain and yellowish beside my E-ring) and the Sales person - Suma, is very nice. It comes with and Extended Service Plan also which will take care of our rings cleaning and resizing just in case we get fat over the years. =)

souvenirs for principal sponsors

2005-12-16T23:50:00.000-05:00

I am so happy with my recent purchase, my wedding channel package came in today while I was preparing for dinner... I kind of took advantage of their sale so I wouldn't be scrounging Manila for wedding favors, medyo na konsensya ako kasi sobrang cheap lang nila...but heck I thought I need to save a little bit...but when I opened the package this afternoon I am soooo happy... I thought the wine stopper and mini grater will be so small that it won't work after all.... but they are not... they don't even looked like they are worth just almost $2 each...

the one with the ring...

2005-12-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

Now this feels a little weird, but am posting anyway...

Well.. just a little background... Cent and I have been civilly married for a year now... but it was kinda abrupt (don't get me wrong, I was not pregnant at that time)... well... let's just say we had an abnormal way of getting married... there was no pamanhinkan at first... but yes he did proposed... on email that is... so we didn't really had a formal kind of thing...

We've been apart since the civil wedding, he works here in US, while I at Manila... We just got together last month when my VL at last got approved.. well to cut it short, he got me surprised with an anniversary ring... but it's too huge for my tiny fingers so we decided to have it resized in Jared (Galleria of Jewelry)... but when we're there... he had me pick the ring I want... so we exchanged it for an engagement ring...

And even though when it was still an anniversary ring, I felt elated with the thought of him even thinking of getting me one... coz of what abnormality we went through, I was always proud to say (when a lot of others were asking what kind of ring I got when I have none) we need not a ring to engage ourselves in this kind of relationship.

Ring or no ring.. we still got ourselves entwined with each others love...

Vacation with Hubby

2005-12-01T00:24:00.000-05:00

As hubby and I are together for the holidays, we decided to have our sort of pre-nup pic since we are on the edge of not having one due to conflict of schedule (me working in Manila, and him here in NC). We had a road trip to Washington and had some pics taken which we can use as our engagement pics needed for the AVP and tarpaulin, but we still do hope to have our pre nup in Manila by February. Check out the pics at http://katelucero.blogs.friendster.com/photos/trip_to_washington_dc_and/index.html

Update before my vacation..

2005-11-21T19:58:00.000-05:00

I'll be gone for a month so I might as well update my wedding preps, still 3 months to go... and still have a lot to do.. but here's what I have so far...

1. Coconut Palace - reservation pa lang din... Mabel won't want me to pay before I leave, pag balik na lang daw so we can talk longer... so far here's my inclusion:

Venue Rental - P25,000 (first 150pax)
7,500 (additional 100)
Sound System - P7,000
Pool Service Fee - P2,000
Elec. Charge for Video Coverage - P3,000
Elec. Charge for Wide Screen - P500
Per hour in excess - P3000

Total of P48,000

2. Josiah's Catering - Paid 50% DP

Menu - done, I don't have my list right now eh
Centerpieces - done
Cake - with upgrade only - I don't want to be way beyond the budget alotted
50pcs Luminaries for only P2,500
Backwall and gazebo - done

3. Tet Hagape - Paid 50% DP - will have the next fitting on January na lang when I return

4. Print Lane - Paid 50% DP, they will also make my souvenir tags, for pick up by my sister
next week since the paper I want is not yet available.

5. Souvenirs - c/o SIL - all items bought already except for the Ninangs - decorations will
start on December.

6. Photo/Video - discussed, haven't had a meeting with Dang yet after the discussion, will
discuss on January.

7. Love in Bloom (florist) - Paid 50% DP, will have to tell her to add 1 boquet for another
Maid of Honor and another Ninang.

8. Groom's Pants - Nike Golf, bought by Hubby just now, and he likes it =)

9. Tiara, Unity Candle and other accessories - discussed with Gerri Diokno, will have
to finalize on January pa din.

10. Arrhae - Dad will let me use their 13pcs, year 1952 50 centavo coins they used in their
wedding.

When I come back, I will have to make arrangements for the Honeymoon, book hotel rooms for the wedding preps, buy the wedding rings, buy the gifts for Ninangs, distribute the invites, do the ceremony program and reception program.

That's it for now, I still have to check my checklist for other details. =)

I have my ticket!!!

2005-11-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hubby bought me tickets already for my month long vacation... I'm excited to see him and hug him...and be just with him... we've been apart for eight months already and I sooooo miss him!

Right now I'm still busy with work -- endorsing my tasks would be stressfull since I am too workaholic and doesn't want anybody doing my thing...but well... I have to admit that I am relieved not to work for a month... finally having a vacation after four loooong years... and with that I really mean VACATION! -- no more calls while I am busy reading my favorite novel... no more storbo when I'm glued to the TV... hehe... now that's what I call LIFE!!! =)

Our Wedding Venue

2005-11-01T00:42:00.000-05:00

The Coconut Palace
(photo courtesy of Josiah's website)

the coin holder

2005-10-23T00:56:00.000-04:00

Here are some shots of the coin holder, I dunno why I can't insert it in my previous post... so after several attempts.. here it is.. finally uploaded...

more wedding updates

2005-10-22T10:40:00.000-04:00

A busy week indeed.. both in work and for wedding preps.. I must say I've accomplished a lot over the week... let's see...

1. Hubby's new necklace - He's been wanting a necklace eversince and this is such a perfect time... well it could be my engagement necklace for him =) The pendant is the symbol of Penny Hardaway, the design was scanned from his shirt (which he's not using anymore because I'm already its keeper =) ) and created for a pendant by our office alajera...it's like a common symbol of cents/centavos but the "c" is so much maarte...and the thingy that cuts across it is composed of several baguette diamonds..wasn't able to count them though...kaka duling eh..'twas nice and all of my officemates loved it... I love it too..now we have our letters as pendants..

2. Coin Holder - Sore feet - result of walking around SM Megamall to find the Oceanic 1911 store, an hour and a half later... whoa! a whopping 50% off on gift items and I was so thrilled to see that our coin holder (in my imagination) costs only P110 from its original price of P220... beautiful and theme worthy - maroon (red actually) and silver in heart shaped with engraved roses on cover. =)

3. Wedding Ring design - while on the walk around Megamall... i came across the Wedding Activity booths at the 2nd Level... syempre kailangan mag tingin tingin... saw a nice wedding ring design at the Suarez Wedding Rings booth... and not too heavy on the pocket too... will drop by at their Gateway Branch sometime next month...

4. Invites - heeded the advice of Maricel, a co w@wie and friend of my hubby from their college days...she recommended Printlane in Recto...they had a booth at the Kasalan 2005 in Megatrade Hall just this month...there's this invite that I liked soo much but unfortunately doesn't have a pic of... it's an elegant and unique invite... luckily, my artist friends (Helen and Karlynn, both High School Bestfriends and now Secondary Sponsors) came with me to choose the material and color combination using the same design... paid DP already... will just email the wordings to Tata..

5. Ento Gowns Measurement done!!! (well...er...except for 1 BM, 1SS and 1 FG coz they are out of the country/town).

Well.. that's it... not too much but am almost through...

Next stop: Timeline - until January 2006

1. PAL office to book for the PALAKBAYAN package on Ananyana Beach Resort, Bohol
2. WESTIN Phil Plaza to book for the rooms needed for the wedding Preps...

and I am sooo relieved... =)

the second fitting..

2005-10-14T04:42:00.000-04:00

Just had my second fitting a while ago... and it's still the lining... Tet's really into the details and is making sure that she makes it as it is on design and making sure also that it fits me well... my next fitting will be on December with the embroidery already... I think it's still two more fittings to go...

I have to keep my figure as it is coz it's still 4 months to go... it will be hard to resist temptation especially during the holidays... waah... talk about Discipline...

By the way... since I was out there alone again... Tet took my pic from my N7610... I forgot to bring my digicam and I thought that nobody will take my pic anyway... sobrang nahiya ako... but she's more than just my designer... she's a friend now... and we discovered that she and my brothers do have some common friends from their childhoood...

I like the back design the most since I find it unique... I wanted a tube gown at first... but I figured I will look even smaller...and fuller... so I picked a top with straps and a lower back... It will make me look a little taller since I'm petite.

There you go... I'm not posting the front pic though... Readers will have to wait 'til the wedding. =)

wedding updates...

2005-10-07T09:17:00.000-04:00

Here are some wedding updates... may accomplishments na pala ako.. =)

1) Coconut Palace - paid Reservation
2) Josiahs Catering - paid Reservation
3) Florist - Love in Bloom - paid 50% DP
4) Tet Hagape - paid 50% DP
5) Souvenirs - bought already, for decoration c/o SIL
6) Photo/Video - discussed, no need to book since friend ni hubby
7) Westin - got the vouchers already, for booking na lang

haha... wala na pala.. yun lang... still have a lot of things to do... waaaaah!!! STRESS!

on my Florist and Gown Designer

2005-09-30T02:33:00.000-04:00

I have a fairly productive day yesterday... Finally my wedding preparations is getting a light...

First stop... Love In Bloom - Ortigas Avenue Extension, Pasig City

I have had a number of consultations with different florists in a number of bridal fairs... but this florist did the setup of my sister's wedding... the guests love the flowers in both the ceremony and reception to the point that all flowers were plucked after the wedding and only the leaves were left (very pinoy) and the ento flowers were very colorful and beautiful... so.. I asked ate Jo to arrange the flowers for my wedding! =)

She showed me pictures of her setup and even an album of a CP wedding she did early this year.. and I just so want that... I fell in love with her pieces of art.. so we immediately went down to business... since Josiah's will be responsible for the setup of the reception, Love in Bloom will make my ceremony bloom with her flowers and my entourage blush with their boquets...

I'll be having a boquet with maroon tulips, one maroon button tulip for the groom, while the rest of the ento will have roses... white roses for the ceremony.. a gazebo for the altar and an arch for the grand entrance =) and the cost is 4K cheaper than that of the leading florist in my list (whose quotation did not include tulips ha..)

Second stop... Tet Hagape Fashion Shop - Pasig Greenpark

Had my first fitting... take note.. I love it even if it's still all lining... I am all smiles when their mananahi , Tet and the girl who does the beadworks on their bridal gowns are all on me... although I understand a little of what they are discussing.. I am happy with how the lining fits me.. =) the straps are perfect... the neckline is perfect and the back design is perfect... I can almost picture my self walking down the aisle... sadly I wasn't able to take pictures coz I got there just by myself (hubby is out of the country...while all the members of the female ento are either at work or school)...

All in all...I went home with a big smile and a happy heart... a few more things to go... =)

my sister's wedding

2005-09-27T21:40:00.000-04:00

Have nothing much to say for my wedding preps... and wanted to post something still related...though not to my wedding...

My sister and her fiancè tied the knot early this month... and I so miss my sister... she's my bestfriend... my strength... she's not the strong type of person... she's mahiyain.. mahinhin... maybe coz she was surrounded with a lot of nuns from where she studied from primary to tertiary.. so I have to be strong for her... all my life I thought I only lived to protect her... but now she has someone to do that for her for the rest of her life...

I didn't want to let her go.. but hey I was the first one who got married... and I won't always be by her side... so I guess I have to give her away... sigh...

Cakes - Judy Uson

2005-09-16T07:05:00.000-04:00

Emailed Judy and she already quoted the cake designs I posted here... She's nice even if it's on email only... and I think am gonna get her na.... she's soo cool... she even said she may have a reputation with the w@wies for having expensive cakes... it may be true but we are sure that the cakes are made just like the way we want it to be... well actually her rates are in the middle... not too expensive.. not too cheap... just right for a bride like me! =)

cakes inspirations

2005-09-12T12:03:00.000-04:00

I think am in a good mood to scout for suppliers these days... unlike during the previous months before the pamanhikan... i was soooo tamad then.... I'm a little bit excited now.. well... na feel ko na ata that I'm gonna march down the aisle soon...

So here are some cake inspirations I gathered from WeddingChannel.Com... simple yet beautiful on their own...I wanted it to be part of the formal romantic theme -- thus the flowers...
Isn't it just sooo romantic... sigh

more invites..

2005-09-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

Went net surfing the other day and found lots of invites with touch of red or maroon... I came accross the carlson craft and found these nice invites inspirations... well most of their invites are really cheaper than other invites supplier here in the Philippines... not to mention that they are nicey nice...=) might be able to get from them though if I'll be able to visit hubby there this year so we can save on freight cost... I love the ones with blank ink but my motiff is maroon and silver... so I guess the ones with white will have to make do..

will be scouting for other invites supplier though since the day is still 5 months away and 3 months till distribution... I'm planning to distribute 'em on Christmas when most of our relatives are coming home.. so it's still 3 months to go for an invites supplier...=)

the pamanhikan

2005-09-10T06:44:00.000-04:00

Had the pamanhikan a while ago...without the groom to be..who's sleeping in his hotel in NC while I am out here with the oldies to discuss about the wedding (renewal of vows).... Actually it's a late pamanhikan coz we already had our secret civil marriage last year ü

Only his dad, elder sister and cousin went with a friend of his dad... Mommy Onie is in the US as well.. and Honey (youngest sister) is reviewing for an exam...while us... we are complete... including the in-laws...ü We had our lunch unlike the traditional dinner pamanhikan coz they were from Tarlac pa... My hands were sweating at first considering how mad my dad was when we told him that we got married already... I thought I'm in for another blow (daya ni G2B eh...mag-isa lang ako)... I actually got my hankies ready just in case... But it went well... My dad and his dad are now friends..calling one another as "pare"...coz they are not quite used to saying "balae".. I am now relieved and can go on with the wedding preps... I was on hold before and didn't have the excitement knowing that things are not yet in place... but now, we have the blessing of both sides and are now ready for the wedding and the life ahead of us... Cheers! ü

Ento Gowns...

2005-09-09T03:29:00.000-04:00

for the flower girls....

for the BMs and SS

Finally posting the sketches of my ento gowns..went to Tet on the last week of August and here's what we came up to... Tube Maroon Shantung gown with metallic chiffon sash knotted on the left side of the waist for the Bridesmaids... The haltered one with the flower is for the secondary sponsors...

Tet is soo nice and professional... she's even the one who suggested my theme based on the gowns...ü Will have measurements by next week...

QP Invites

2005-08-14T11:50:00.000-04:00

Went to Megamall yesterday to check some invites at the Wedding Library and QP designs... there's nothing much.. siguro mapili lang talaga ako.. 2 invites caught my attention at QP designs...There's this styled invite on Silver paper with Maroon embossed ink (sample is in midnight blue) and maroon organza ribbon, the other one is a plain square invite with names on the background, stamped in silver ink and the paper comes in maroon... both invites have names embossed at the flap. The first one is cheaper and within our budget since I really am not into splurging for the wedding coz there are other big things we should be saving up for.. like having a baby =) Though the expensive one matches our formal-romantic theme.. sigh...

Our DIY Save The Date Card

2005-08-14T10:43:00.000-04:00

Finally here's our save the date card for principal sponsors... It's DIY... but my friends liked it... best part is, it has been approved by non other than the groom himself... I liked it... I wanted to mix the motif with CP's set-up pics... it took me a very very long time before posting this coz am sooo busy.... I'm thinking of creating some for the out of town guests coz our wedding date is not a weekend... so there will be no reason not to attend! =) I haven't printed this card yet since our Principal Sponsors list isn't complete... and yes up to this day.. well it's still 7 mos away so there's no reason to panic at all... well maybe I can print some for the Sponsors who are already in the list... and I'll have him print those that are for the Sponsors coming from the US... that will save as a bit from the freight cost... =)
- copied from my friendster blog, posted last July 2005

Posted by Picasa

2005-08-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

me and hubby

Posted by Picasa

Finally a blogger

2005-08-14T09:06:00.000-04:00

Finally! I am mainting a blog in friendster but I figured blogger is better =) ... well I've seen a lot of blogs of fellow w@wies and they rock! But I will have to transfer my wedding preps post here.. sigh..

and finally I am into wedding preps... I should be... It's just 6 mos away... oh noh! and I have 3 suppliers still!!!