On a Cloud Nine

I was in high spirits when I saw our surnames under Raymond Fortun's November 20,2011 calendar slot. I still couldn't believe until now that we are really getting married.  

Realities are indeed better than dreams..couldn't be happier.. ^^

Wedding Preparation Guide

My aunt (tita Grace) sent me a spreadsheet containing the list of to do's prior to the wedding day itself. I find it really helpful so I am posting it here to help other bride-to-be's as well.

Happy preps! =)

Announce your engagement Decide on a date Decide on time of ceremony and reception Go over the budget Pick the ceremony site Determine number of guests and draw up a guest list with fiancé Choose and reserve the  reception site Book a hotel room for wedding day (suggestion: h2b stay at the same hotel for coverage of his prep) Select ceremony officiant and check his availability (if not supplied by church) Draw a list of primary sponsors and check their availability Choose members of the wedding entourage Finalize members of the entourage and principal sponsors Select mass readers and program hosts (emcees) Formally inform all Principal sponsors and wedding entourage Decide on color motif and wedding theme Make honeymoon reservations Canvass all prospective suppliers Book a designer and finalize wedding gown and entourage attire and schedule fittings Book supplier for grooms attire and male entourage (if own supplied) and schedule for fitting Book photographer and videographer Book make up artist Decide on gown design and supplier Decide on entourage attire and designer Have every participant measured and schedule for intital fitting Hire events stylist/florist Hire on the day wedding coordinator Book the musicians, sound system supplier and singers. Finalize cake design and supplier Decide on wedding favors and book supplier Scout and book bridal car supplier Finalize and book all special suppliers (like confetti, fireworks, etc) Decide on design and order the wedding invitations Choose and order wedding bands and have them engraved Make a directory of all pertinent persons and suppliers and keep it handy Complete all church requirements Schedule couples seminar  Do an ocular of church and reception with Stylist and Coordinator (if needed) Take sample copy of missalette to Officiant for approval Complete the guest list with contact numbers and name to address in envelopes Start Delivery of Invitations Do bridal registry Have bridal/groom fitting and wedding party and schedule for adjustments Schedule Prenup pictorial Do a hair and makeup run-through (with headpiece) on day of prenup pictorial Print missalette Have missalette stapled, cut and embossed Buy/Order gifts for principal sponsors and wedding entourage Arrange final fittings for bride and entourage Break in bridal shoes ( this is important) Finalize all songs to be played at church and reception Inform Musician and coordinator of your song selections Finalize ceremony plans and reception program Prepare technical script and program flow with coordinator Have dry run with Reception hosts Finalize reception set up and layout details Order wines for toasting and arrange alcoholic drinks to be served (if own supplied) Turn over all suppliers details to coordinator RSVP guests Puzzle time: Do the seating for the reception Make sure all wedding favors (principal, entourage, guest) are complete and ready for turnover to coordinator Prepare all necessary items for ceremony and reception Get final trim and color for hair Get teeth cleaning Prepare table cards for VIPs Finalize seating arrangement Prepare registry cards (if assigned seating) Delegate duties and responsibilities to friends and family needed for the wedding Make sure wedding outfit and accessories is complete and done and scheduled for delivery Attend bridal shower Give the food provider the final head count and discuss final arrangements. Confirm details with all suppliers Write all check payable to all suppliers for their balance for turnover to coordinator Place fees for tips for the Big Day fort turnover to coordinator Finalize everything again with Coordinator for Ceremony and Reception Program Get relaxation and body treatments Prepare all things to be brought to the hotel and emergency kit

I'm Gearing Myself Up

with prayers and faith for my busy, stressful yet exciting 2011.

The Bible said in Psalms 119:116 that He will sustain me according to His promises. So to HIM, I cast our wedding and 'marriage' preparations.

Because I have always loved pink

so I changed our blog skin and I am happier.

Pink is ME. ƸӜƷ

My Heart Melts..

Kate: Beb tumatawag ako kanina kasi may nakita akong Lacoste shoes sa mall. Di ko alam size mo e. Di naman kita ma-contact

 Jay: Bakit?

Kate: Christmas gift ko sa'yo

(naibili ko na sila lahat ng pasalubong pag-uwi ko, sya nalang ang wala)

Jay: Okay lang yun, di ko pa naman need ng shoes. Idagdag mo nalang yan sa budget natin sa wedding gown mo.

awwwww!

Jay knows I was longing for a beautiful gown (with tiara..lolz!) It was so thoughtful of him that he still remembers when I was complaining in one of our skype convos about how expensive was the gown I initially wanted.

But of course I will still buy him a christmas present.. =)

We are now officially a w@w couple!

Yes, Jay already received our w@w tags today! I didn't expect it to be that fast since Miss Benz told me the processing could take up to 14 days. But it only took 6 days! Weeeee! Can't wait to see them! Thank you so much Miss Benz, you're a star!

Wondrin' what am I talking about?

 Click on this link to find out: About w@w tag

Videographer Found!

After securing the venue, caterer and photographer, I consumed most of my idle time watching wedding SDEs by different videographers - from the most famous ones to those who are still new in videography business. But we are also watching on our budget and Jay is very strict with it. I even told him I'm willing shell out for the photo/vid because I really wanted to splurge on it, but he was firm that we should stick with what has been planned. Our budget for the video is only 30k - 35K since our photographer is quite costly for us already (but Atty. Fortun is my non-negotiable supplier and we got his special package, saving us 9k. ^^ ) I had to eliminate those whose offers are higher than the set amount, except for Chug Cadiogan. I've seen Chug's work through ate Sarj. He was the one who covered their wedding. I also learned from her that Chug is humble and fun to work with. So I was wishing that he could cover ours too.But his package is out of our budget. A co-w@wie told me that I can ask for a special package since I am a w@w member. So I instantly e-mailed him. His special package for w@w are superb, but still out of the budget so I was bit depressed :(. I was even tempted to get him without telling Jay how much shall we pay. But I realized that it's not good to start the 'marriage' with some lies. So I had to think of some ways to eventually convince him.

W@W group has been a blessing to me. I've met some brides who are on the same situation like me. I also learned that there are quite a lot of good videographers that could deliver a quality output but wouldn't hurt our pocket. I've thrown them emails inquiring on their rates. I was also surprised to learn that they really recognize w@w group and they're offering same packages at lower prices. Yay! how good was that! So I just decided to let go of Chug (**with a sad face**) and for the whole week I did an SDE marathon and I scouted..scouted..scouted..And tadan! I landed to Kris Matanguihan's site.

According to what is written on his site, Kris is just one year in business, but already has more than 4 years of videography experience. And man! He's unquestionably talented and his works are absolutely great! And most of all, his packages are not that pricey yet. I giggled when I checked on w@w site that he's giving out discounts for w@wies (if I avail the discount, our budget will fit in) Without a second thought I sent him an e-mail. Kris was very accomodating, that time I had no w@w tag yet (but I was told by Ms. Benz that I am eligible already.) So he advised me that he'll temporarily reserve the date for me until I claim my tag. I was alleviated. I could now move on to the next wedding preps.

Two days after, Ms. Benz announced that there'll be an auction (W@W Auction is your chance to get Supplier's Package at a lower cost.)  At first I was just curious to know who participated . I was in glee when I saw Kris' name as one of the donors. Next moment, I found myself clicking the 'register'. During last few hours of the auction I literally kept my eyes on the screen. Haha! I was really determined to win, I was holding my laptop (and iphone) everywhere I go (yes, even in toilet!), I didn't want to lose sight of the auction. Haha! And it paid off  - I won Kris' Full Wedding Video Coverage!

The package includes:

Two (2) 3CCD Widescreen Cameras
Three (3) DVD edited (Cinematic and MTV Style) (approx. 30mins)
Raw Footage in DVD (approx. 4 – 6 hrs.)
SAME-DAY-EDIT (Preparation and Ceremony footage edited and shown at the reception)

Thank you so much w@w!

That was my very first time to join an auction. I enjoyed it. I hope there'll be another wave this year, I'll definitely join again. =)

Oh and by the way, we were able to save up about 35% of the original price plus the w@w discount. Jay should be so proud of me. Haha!

But above all, all credit goes to God, He once again proved me that He is an ABLE FATHER that He can work in wonders. He's really soo good, we were able to avail a good videographer (reviews I've read about him are all positive) and yet still aligning with our budget . I'm looking forward to personally meeting Kris in few weeks for the signing of the contract. =)

*********************************************************************************

In case you're in a budget and looking for affordable videographers you might as well try to check on the following (I've also been reading good feedback about them).

Kris Matanguihan

http://krismatanguihan.com/

Of course love your own. =) I remember on calling him 8 o'clock in the morning just to tell him I won the auction. He answered me with a sleepy voice and I just realized holiday pala sa Pinas. Oh my.. I apologized promptly. He said it's okay and he even congratulated me for winning the auction. I'll add some reviews about his work after the wedding. Can't wait!

Bong Videos

http://www.bongvideos.com/

Co-w@wies who got him say that he's not difficult to talk to and he's really professional when it comes to his client commitments. Terms of payment according to them are also okay. I've also been exchanging emails with him for several times. Among the videographers I've inquired on, he's the quickest to respond, he entertains all queries.

EMACS Photography

http://emacsphotography.blogspot.com/

Their works also outstand other affordable videographers (at least in my own pov). I've also read good feedback from a co-w@wie. They also do give discounts to w@w brides. And we almost got them.

ALT-X Photography

http://emacsphotography.blogspot.com/

They're equally young and talented videographers. They're still new in business that's why they're still inexpensive. One w@wie got them and was satisfied with their output.

I've also inquired on the following videographers with ongoing promos but I have to read reviews about them yet:

Geronimo Photographico

http://www.photographico.com/

They have 30% off on their videography packages

Digital Shots

www.digitalshots.biz

They have an ongoing 20% off on their video packages (on going until Dec 31,2010)

Hope that helps! =)

Videos! Videos!

This was a surprise video for Jay's birthday last May 2010. But I think he wasn't really surprised since I always create a vid for his birthday for 3 consecutive years already. It's just little different this time, the birthday message was from me alone. I usually make 'kulit' of our batch mates, especially his closest friends in the batch, to give him a birthday message for the previous years. 

Trivia: The background song (Signal Fire) was his song for me - he sang it during our 'best of friends' days.. ^^

I created the vid below during my idle time in the office. The images were drawn using Paint application. It tells a part of our love story. ^^

Jay's Announcement =)

We've been preparing for our wedding for few weeks already and we wanted it to be as discreet as possible - at least until the formal announcement to our families, which we intended to reveal when I get back in December.

But Jay took the wind out of my sail when he asked me to go downstairs because we'll be announcing to his family that we're getting married. I was busy packing my things for my 4 o'clock departure when he entered the room. I actually didn't have time to inhale and exhale, at least to calm myself, nor ask him 'ha, are you sure?!'

When we went down I saw them (except for Ate Chelle) already waiting for us. I was really nervous and I almost wanted to push myself to having a forced heart attack! But I tried to suppress the panic/nervous/wanting-to-pee feeling. I wanted to scold Jay for just grabbing me out and never giving me chance to prepare. Nakakakaba pala talaga!

We waited for Ate Raechelle for few minutes. When everybody was already seated Jay started to talk by stating 'Ahm magpapakasal na kami..'

And tete-a-tete went smoothly.

I was just relieved from being uneasy when I heard his parents giving their blessing to us. I am thankful that the conversation went well and they were okay with our plans.

God is good!

Food Tasting with Hizon's

It took about 2.5-hour troublesome travel to reach Hizon's office in Quezon City. It rained so hard causing a heavy traffic jam. I also had difficulty in breathing since we had to cover the jeepney's window by its plastic sheet and I was suffocated. :-( It was not the first time it happened though, I had history of childhood asthma and I recently had some heart problems.

We were really exhausted. Jay even told me while walking that it wasn't worth all the time and trouble we went through. Good thing Camille (Hizon's AE) was nice and very accommodating. Prior to the food tasting, she presented us the table set up, package inclusions, etc. And lo! she gave us so many freebies, she even upgraded our dessert from 2 to 6 kinds! (ang saya saya!).

After that we were served with the main dishes, 2 types of meal per viand (veggies, beef, chicken, fish and pork). We were just a bit disappointed because we weren't able to try their desserts, because our meeting was just 'by appointment' and they won't serve them for arrangements such as that. But we were assured that they'll be serving us desserts during the final food tasting.

Overall their food is great. I also loved the way they were presented. Even Jay was totally impressed and his mood has shifted 180 degrees. While Camille was away he told me right away that he wanted to get them na. I agreed instantly since he knows better than me and I admit that their food is something to be raved about.

Here are the inclusions for the package we availed (good for 150 pax)

• 1 Appetizer
• 1 Soup
• Pasta Bar (Fettucine with Alfredo Sauce and Penne with Napolitana Sauce) - (freebie)
• 1 Beef Menu
• 1 Pork Menu
• 1 Chicken Menu
• 1Fish Menu
• Dessert Bar (6 kinds) - (free upgrade)
• Chocolate Fountain with Dippings - (freebie)
• Refillable Iced Tea

Grilled Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

Fish Fillet with Honey Mustard Sauce

US Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy Sauce

Hawaiian Barbecued Chicken

Penne with Nepolitana Sauce

Buttered Vegetables with Sweet Kernel Corn

Lumpia Bar with Peanut Sauce

Pork Korean Sesame

Roast Porkloin with Apple Raisin Sauce

Grilled fish with Crispy Garlic and Lemon Butter

Beef with Mushroom Calamata

Jay busy with iphone

Jay especially enjoyed the Hawaiian barbecue chicken, grilled chicken with mushroom gravy, roast pork with apple sauce and grilled fish with crispy garlic and lemon butter.

We want to treat our guests to a superb dinner after the ceremony. Most of them will come from far places, some will even fly from other countries. They will also devote their time and effort just to witness us exchanging vows, and to show our appreciation we want to serve them with mouthwatering cuisines. We trust that Hizon's won't fail us. ^^

We Finally Found the Castle!

I went to Philippines last November 5-7, 2010 to do an ocular visit for the possible wedding venue. Since I've got a limited time we planned to check only two venues - Light of Love and La Castellana in Intramuros. Since we have an appointment with Hizon's on November 5 we agreed to visit Light of Love first because Hizon's and LOL are both  located in Quezon City. Then the next day we'll go to La Castellana. 

From Tondo we have to take two jeepney rides to reach Quezon City. When we alighted from our first ride Jay suddenly told me we could visit La Castellana first because we are already in Intramuros. Since according to him we'll just take few minutes walk, I okay'ed. It was actually my first time to stride on that famous place and I was really amused to see all the scattered kalesas on it's streets. It was also nice to see securities dressed like guardia civil. I felt like I was brought to the 16th century. Hehe. 

It was not a long walk, we reached the place with no trouble since it was just located near the Manila Cathedral. La Castellana's AE, Christian, toured us around the vicinity and it's really amazing! The place was clean and looked like it's newly painted. According to him, it was built last quarter of 2008 so it's relatively new. He first showed us the reception and ceremony area. I was wowed by the crystal chandeliers (I wasn't able to take their sum but according to the website, it's a 20-piece chandelier) elegantly hanging at the ceiling. The granite floor  plus the exquisite arches were also outstanding. Standing there, I felt like I'm a princess!

Next stop was the caterer's cooking/preparation area. The area was pretty big and looked like it is well-maintained. Then we stepped next on the guests' washrooms which like all areas we've seen, were also so so clean. Washroom for the suppliers are also separate (bongga!). We went upstairs to check the bridal suite. It was actually bigger than I've imagined. It was beautiful and I loved it! I actually wanted to park myself there overnight. Haha! We were not able to check on the veranda since we need to rush for our food tasting appointment with Hizon's. Ooops - I almost forgot the courtyard just beside the ballroom area was also lovely! Jay instantly fell in love with the place. He told me he doesn't want to look for another place anymore. I pleadingly told him we have to check Light of Love also but he really liked La Castellana. But there are just some drawbacks we've seen:

1. It has no parking lot. Our guests have to park their car on the street. But we were assured that there'll be uniformed securities to look after the vehicles so they'll be safe.

2. It is not air conditioned. 'Mainit' is the only negative feedback I have heard about the place so far. That time the ventilators/aircoolers are not turned on so it's really 'mainit' considering that I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. Christian told me that the huge fans (about 10..not sure) will be turned on an hour before the event. But I was quite worried. Good thing there was an event when we came back the next day. I purposely wore a long sleeved shirt pero hindi naman sya mainit.

3. The ceremony and reception will happen at same venue. I really wanted to have a separate venue for the ceremony (a garden) and reception. But the ballroom hall is L-Shaped naman so okay na din. O sya hindi na ako mag-iinarte. Hehe.

The place was generally fantastic, in fact I dropped my jaw. Plus factor was it's just a 15-Minute travel from Jay's place, so I told him 'sige book na natin bukas'.

I've always been fond of the fairy tales and castles and frog princes and I've always dreamed to be a princess wearing a beautiful gown with tiara on my head. In fact I've named one of my blog sites 'princess without castle'. It's fab that we already found the one (God is good!). Looks like we have a theme already... ^^

The Courtyard

Salon de Joaquin Ballroom

Huge air coolers

Guests' washroom

Heading towards the bridal suite

Bridal Suite Receiving Area

Overlooking the ballroom hall

Stairs to the room

Monograms by a Newbie

About 2 months ago I attempted to create our monogram. I've spent a whole day, including studying photoshop's tools to create 3 samples. I did not include the date yet because that time it was still under discussion. I really enjoyed playing around with Photoshop, especially with it's 'effects' thing. I'll definitely put some of my spare time to work for more of them. =)

Jay liked the first one though he criticized that the boy should be drawn in blue and the girl in pink. I opted for the second monogram because it looked more formal. Anyway I still got luxury of time to produce hundred choices. ^^

 

Photographer - Checked!

stacie and pupphin looked good with the bagtags =)

When Jay told me he's going to propose when I get back to Philippines  (this was supposed to be a surprise, leh!  )  I became excited that I began to search for possible list of suppliers already. But let me justify, I've been a lurker (sometimes active ) in Girltalk for few hundred years already and I would sometimes flick through the Engagements & Weddings section of the forum. I observed that most of them were preparing a year or two ahead. That's why I insisted to Jay that I should start preparing if we plan for a 2011 wedding.

But long before the proposal confession, I had already one supplier in mind - Raymond Fortun. Does it ring a bell? Yes, he's the famous and the high profile lawyer. He was one of Erap's lawyers during his impeachment trial. And he became my bestfriend Hazel's crush (way back in our highschool sophomore years). I actually admired him too. He seemed to be so intellectual (well, he really is!) and I liked the way he handled the fiasco - I mean that time almost everybody hated him - nah not him, people's fury for Erap was at least extended to him. But I later on learned when I was leafing through his site that he was actually a Cory Aquino's die-hard supporter.

When I joined the weddings at work group I was thrilled when I found out that he was voted and awarded the 'Best Supplier of the Year' for year 2009. Just wondrin' where did this guy got such incredible knacks. I also wanna go there and get some! haha!

Knowing such kind of achievement, I became hesitant to throw him an email regarding his photography rates. I of course expected that we wouldn't afford him. But I really adored his works and was even fancying that I am one of those bride-to-be's on his site. So I emailed him.

He replied after few hours. His rates are quite pricey, but pretty much reasonable. But I was surprised that it was lower than I have expected (see, there's no harm in asking!). And what delighted me was he's giving a special discount (a whopping 9k discount!) for reservations made during the bridal fair (last Otcober 15 - 17 at SM Megamall). So I straight away asked Jay to go to the fair and pay the reservation fee. Of course as what I've expected he turned down the 'going to a wedding fair' idea. But I explained that we could get huge discounts if we'll book all our wedding suppliers during wedding fairs. In the end I was triumphant. I sooo love my fiance! =)

Jay was also handed with 2 bagtags (one for me and one for him) with the words written 'I am an RF bride/groom'. He was the very first supplier that we booked. We haven't personally met him yet (Jay paid the reservation fee to his teammate) but we're very much sure we are in good hands. ^^

Jay's tag

My bagtag!

Why November 20,2011?

There is really no compelling reason why we picked the date -  aside from it being a weekend (Sunday - less hassle for most of our guests) and unique when written in figures (11.20.2011 for mmddyyyy format and 20.11.2011 for ddmmyyyy format. Cool, isn't it?). That way we won't forget it until we grow old and already candidates to join the Alzheimer's club. Haha! We initially planned to have the wedding on May 2012, primarily because May is our birth month (and I won't mention that I'm 5 days older than him, it adds up to my frustrations!). But he didn't want the idea of wedding preparations that will take for ages so we moved it to March 2012, then the next day we agreed to have it December 2011 but then I learned that December is a peak wedding month, and most of the suppliers and venues usually charge at higher rates so we just settled for November 20,2011 wedding. Personally I actually didn't have an ideal wedding date. I am okay to changing it over and over again, I wouldn't mind, as long as I am marrying the same man.. ^^