3 months to go.. Still got few more suppliers to book

Time check. Its 3 months to go before our big day. Upon checking my checklist,  I still have around 3 or 4 things which I have not yet booked. I'm not worried though. hahahaa. I'm thinking I could book these on the September 2011 bridal fair at SMX. Hopefully they are still available. 

a.) LCD/Video Projector. I'm thinking on getting Metrotech for this due to good feedbacks in w@w like good quality and affordable price. If not, I might get the projector from MG Digital Video. Will ask my coordinator's thoughts on this.

b.) Bridal car. I am eyeing fly cars to manila. They got a very nice package. 8 hours use, free floral arrangements, free gas/toll/parking fees. You just need to give meal allowance to the driver. Not bad eh? The only downside is, they got only a few vintage bridal cars. But since this is not really my priority, I think any car will do.We'll see.

c.) Missalette maker. I found a multiply seller (Customized design) that makes misalette. I just need to give them the misalette contents, my preferred misalette design cover and they do the printing and all that stuff. They work pretty fast like a week before the wedding kaya nila so I might get their services na lang. Tamad kasi talaga akong mag-DIY eh. I don't have annyyy talent. (hehehe. may emphasis yan).

d.) My prenups MUA. Yeah. I still don't have this one. I am contemplating whether to get Jesy's half day services or get another MUA. Mejo malaki rin kasi mase-save ko if I get another MUA since some artists offers 3k or even lower for a half day shoot.  I might get Rae Venturanza (if she is still available on my day as she was my boudoir make up artist so kahit paano I know how she works na rin). If not, I will just look for other suppliers in the bridal fair. I might get some discounts pa.hehehe..

So there you go.. mejo madami pa. The thing is, these are just minor elements na lang of my wedding. Or rather, if I don;t get a certain supplier, I know there are lots of suppliers out there offering the same services/products and I know at the end of the day, I will still get what I need. I'm not very picky over these items pero syempre its still important part of my wedding.

I'm excited for the bridal fair. hehehe. Probably the last bridal fair I will attend before the big day.

Flower centerpiece.. Can't decide

I'll be having my mock setup this week with K by Cunanan Catering and right now, I am browsing for some centerpiece ideas which I would like to use for both the VIP table and the guest tables. I've downloaded a couple of pictures of different table centerpieces. I must say, choosing which one is really tough. Here are my choices:

Honestly speaking, I want tall centerpieces for all the tables. I just find tall centerpieces more elegant and appropriate for a high ceiling like Glass Garden. I just really hope and pray that I won't get charged for all the kaartehan I have in mind. hahahaa. One more advantage of having a tall centerpiece is, I think it won't occupy much space in the table so the guests will not get cramped up when they place their plates and whatnots.

I will finalize this before Wednesday so that I could forward my pegs to Macy. I'm really excited. Aside from this, I will be having another food tasting for the two menus in my list which I did not get to taste during the initial food tasting. I need to decide if I need to change menu or not. Got to go now, brown-out dito sa amin and my laptop is running out of battery.

Finally found my PS gift.. A Rachebeli Experience

Yey! I finally found my PS gifts. Well, actually, gifts for my male entourage. It was actually not planned. I believe I have mentioned in my previous blog that I am eyeing for another wine/chocolates supplier. It costs more than the price of Rachebeli's wine so with this deal, its already a steal.

We are set to have our lunch supposedly at Kanin Club - Ayala Triangle but we arrived pretty late around 12:30pm and we're 14 on the list. Goodness, we can't wait that long even if its a Friday. We then settled for Amici. Equally good food and ambiance and we're 4th on the waiting list. Not bad. While waiting for our table, we noticed that there is an ongoing bridal fair in the nearby Filipinas Heritage Library. Since the admission is free of charge, we decided to pay each booth a visit. Not knowing which suppliers are part of this wedding fair, we stopped by every booth there is - - really just looking. We don't  have any intentions of booking or anything. Until, we stopped by Rachebeli's booth. Upon seeing their wines and chocolates on display, I immediately inquired. You see, I've considered Rachebeli wines as my sponsors gift but I am not familiar with the group buying thing and the wine tasting schedule would simply not meet my sched.So I thought this will be a perfect opportunity for me to book this supplier. I am more convinced when Chelo (owner of Rachebeli) told me if I booked that day, I will get the same freebie as those who are registered with the group buying - - free chocolate bar for every bottle bought. Nice isn't it? Now here goes the wine tasting experience. Since I do not drink at all, I gulped immediately on the mango wine. It turns out I shouldn't swallow the wine immediately. Hahahaha. Chelo patiently explained to me how to do it so that the wine's taste will naturally come out. Parang walkthrough lang talaga. Hahahaa. I passed this responsibility to mommy shei since at least she drinks occasionally. She told me the Black Raspberry taste better than the mango wine. It blended well with the dark chocolate as if each wine has its own corresponding chocolate to bring out the taste.So there, I'm all set. I got the 24 bottles of 360 ml (? i need to check the receipt to confirm) and the dark mint chocolate which Chelo told me is one of their new chocolate flavors. Side kwento: Chelo is really accommodating. Very accommodating. She even accompanied us to the food tasting inside Heritage Library. Dun na daw kami mag lunch. She ushered us to one of the chefs who is an exhibitor as well. We'd love to have an impromptu food tasting but we already have a table reserved for us in Amici. After a small talk with the chef of Deliciosa, we went off.

I don;t have much PS so who to give the extra bottles? I just decided to give it to my male entourage. From Bestman to groomsmen (with the exception of the bearers of course). I'm pretty sure they will like it. For one, its a unique blend. Our intern, Kamran (a british student) was very intrigued that you can make wine out of other fruits like mango and black raspberry.Hahaaa. Second thing, its Filipino owned product. I believe we need to support our local industry. Third, its way cheaper than my preferred supplier. Plus the fact they do customized labeling for both the wine and chocolates. They do free delivery. They do the packaging. Who would say no to this kind of deal?

Whew, one thing off my list. Will definitely keep one black raspberry and mango bottles for hubby to try on.

Of dining out alone and Mt. Carmel Wedding..

I started the day pretty late. Say, I woke up around 8am ( 7am is my normal waking hours during weekends). My itinerary for the day  consists of going to Mt. Carmel Church to get permission for the wedding banns. I need to accomplish this so I could give it to my MIL as they will be having a short trip to Singapore last week of August and she needs to speak with her "kumare" who is working as a church staff. After that, If I still have time, I will visit Chocolate lover store somewhere in Cubao as I need to see which chocolate balls taste good for our souvenirs. Then if the time permits, I want to shop for new clothes like tops as I realized I don't have much new clothes for the past two months already.hehee.. Crazy right? but my main agenda is really to get the request for the wedding banns.  Since I left the house around 11:30ish I don't want to wait during lunch time so I decided to eat lunch in Gateway Mall. I went straight to Burgoo as it has been ages since I ate there. I am missing the shrimps and ribs platter ( my fave) and the raspberry cheesecake (heavenly). I occupied a large table and the waiters/waitresses might be wondering why I am ordering much when I am just alone. I bet they thought I couldn't finish the meal. Well, I proved them wrong. hahaha. I finished it in just 45 minutes. I felt like my stomach is about to burst. I am so busog. So nice experience. At least  it compensated for the loneliness I feel. I miss hubby..

After the sumptuous meal, I went to Mt. Carmel Church. Dealing with them is really a breeze. It took a while before the letters came out but I really did not mind and besides its raining.Can't go out din naman.  I asked ate if there is a wedding that afternoon and she told me there is. Right then and there I decided to just cancel my two other appointments and just make "usi" on the wedding.I know its bad to gatecrash a wedding but I have my reasons. I want to know if the sound system is good and not sabog or if its working properly. Make sure that its not mainit inside the church most especially our guys are wearing suits. I need to know if the lighting is ok or is it too dark. I need to know how the priest officiates the wedding so that as early as now, I can scout for possible priests we can invite to bind us in matrimony. Or if I need to upgrade the flower arrangements. Mejo nahiya lang ako kasi I am wearing jeans and they are all wearing semi-formal dress. Halatang I am really gatecrashing. I just seated in the far left most corner of the aisle para di naman ako panggulo. I just noticed lang na parang konti yung guests nung time na yun or is it just raining kasi and maybe the guests will just follow in the church when the rain stops.  Ako as much as possible I want my entire guests to witness us swear in front of God and our family and loved ones. Sorry to say but I will really instruct my coordinators to not entertain those guests na straight sa reception pupunta. I know its rude but I think mas rude if pupunta ka lang derecho sa reception. I think napaka-insensitive naman nun. Not unless you have a valid reason for doing so. 

Second thing I noticed, the sound system is ok naman but there was a part especially during the entourage procession when the music is heard sa isang part lang ng church. I mean I can hear the entourage song playing in my area and its clear naman but parang hindi sha dinig sa buong church. I don't know if that is how it is done but I need to ensure na dinig talaga from the start pa lang ng procession yung music. It brings out the mood kasi eh. Third is, ayoko ng may pakalat-kalat na guests. I know they want to take pictures and get a better view but I think pwede naman gawin yung discreetly eh. There are lots of area inside the church where you can get pictures at different angles pa. Just don;t do it during the entourage procession. Moreso, during my bridal march. hehehe. I did not finish the rest of the ceremony. I get to note what needs to be noted and what could be avoided for my wedding. Good thing talaga na I stayed to witness a wedding at least I can give an idea to my coordinators what I like to see.Don't get me wrong ha? that wedding I witnessed is more than ok. Its just my being OC talking.  I really think kasi the church ceremony is more often na nao-oversee ng mga couples because focused sila on the reception which I think naman talaga is the main concern but flaws like those can be avoided naman. I think kasi it could ruin the entire day if something weird happens. I know imperfections cannot be avoided but at least I can say to myself, naisip ko yung pwedeng mangyari. hehehe.

Will definitely go back again to gatecrash another wedding sometime in October para rin I can speak with the in house florist na rin to discuss my flower preference.

Entourage gifts.. Should I? or Should I not??

Hmmm.. This is my dilemma as of the moment. I am still thinking,  should i give my entourage gifts or tokens? I decided to give the principal sponsors gifts though. Probably will give them wine with chocolates and I already know where I can get one. And the kids too, of course, I need to bribe them so they will behave during the wedding. hehehee... But for the SS and the Bridesmaid/Groomsmen, I really don't have an idea. My bestfriend told me its not necessary and she thinks I don't need to give one since being a part of our wedding is an honour and privilege for them since we are paying for their gowns (female ento) and we will be providing the neckties ( male ento). We will give them general souvenirs anyway so she thought I really shouldn't be bothered .(Awww that's really sweet bes.) But upon thinking, she makes sense.

But then again, this thing keeps on popping inside my head. I really feel I should give them at least something. Just a way of saying thank you to them. I mean, they also prepared for this wedding. Imagine waking up early when they could just attend the wedding wearing just the right clothes and leave the reception after its finished. My girls will make an effort to hire MUA to beautify them and it costs PhP too. So i think its just right to give them something they will remember. Again, since we will give them the general souvenir (which in my opinion,they can really use to store like candies or coins and not accumulate dust). I have decided to give them cupcakes. Yep, you read it right. Cupcakes. Why? well for one, at least they could share it with whoever they want. Second, when they get hungry after the wedding reception is over, they could just take a bite or decide to eat it later. I just have to be creative - presentation wise. My supplier and I already have a very unique idea for this:  Its just two cupcakes plus two cookies with our initials. The  color of the icing that will be used will match my color motif. We just need to look for a sprinkles that looks like diamonds.  By the way, here are some of the photos of the cupcakes she made in the past. Not much pictures as this is not her legal career. hahaha.:

I am so excited for this.. Her cupcakes are soo yummy.. Siksik and moist. The icing is not too sweet din para iwas "umay" factor. And above all, her cupcakes are affordable.  How did I know? syempre, she's my officemate and she is our "pastry supervisor" whenever we have special occasions, she brings goodies for us. One deciding factor din apart from she's my officemate, our Department Head ( a British national) got a chance to taste her cupcake and he liked it so much. hehhee. o d ba pang international ang taste? hehehe..

I am confident that my entourage will also like the cupcakes and hopefully they find the ideas unique too.

Wedding details.. Didn't know this is hard... :-)

Time check: 3 months to go before our big day. As usual, I'm still laid back as ever and haven't done so much wedding related activities for the past 4 months. Still adjusting with my work as I moved to a different team. Lots of things to do so I kinda neglected my wedding preps (Hayss. kung kelan naman malapit na wedding saka pa dumami ginagawa ko sa office...) I realized that I need to get back on track when some of my wedding suppliers are asking for updates already.Let me enumerate those:

a.) Wedding accessories - Che of Princessweds sent me a text message confirming the shade of red that will be used for my wedding pillows (ring and arrhae). and the design of the brooch that will be used on my wedding cord. Scheduled delivery will be September 2011.

b.) Entourage gowns - Ate Ana (Jheff Fashion House) updated me that they have already bought the fabrics to be used for the gowns of my ento. Actually, she updates me regularly on the progress of the gowns. That's what I like about her. Very transparent. She informed me that the shade of red has changed a bit when they ordered the fabric and she wants me to see those perhaps to get my approval. Will do this by end of August.

c.)  Bridal gown - Cecilio Abad. I just had my second fitting and got so giddy with how my gown actually looked like. Its not halfway done but the fit is so perfect it could pass as a final product for those who are not maselan sa gown. hehehe. Got two more fittings to go and ate Ikyat told me I lost weight again. (that's good news) so she had to alter the gown. Cecil is soo particular with the fit of the gown. Galing talaga. Isang tingin pa lang nya on my gown while I am wearing it, he knows something needs to be altered. 

d.) Mock set up. K by Cunanan Catering. I will have a mock setup this coming first week of September so that I can get an idea how the reception decors would look like. That way, I still have time to modify my designs or if I need an upgrade of the flowers. Still don't know but hoping they could execute the designs I have chosen at no extra cost.  I have also requested for another food tasting as I have not tasted some of the dishes that is on my original list and I need to know if I have to choose other menu so that I could get a feedback from my w@w sisses on what's a good alternative. Side kwento: I didn't know that there are several ways to fold a napkin. Macy let me choose which fold I like since I am doing a semi-DIY of the napkin holder for the VIP tables. Na-stress yata ako dun.  

e.) Wedding Invitations (Printdivas). just received the first draft of our invites. I noticed that the font style I used doesn't look good as some names are unreadable. Didn't know that invites can cause too much stress as I need to figure out which font style is good to use, the wordings, the design and all that stuff. Good thing that Gary, my AE in Printdivas and the part-owner Thea ( i think) is very patient with me regarding the font style. Another thing is that my entourage list is not yet final as I am still waiting for my bridesmaid to confirm whether her annual leave has been approved. But so far, the first draft is ok na. Well, I am not that particular talaga with the invites.Whatever will look good when printed out and the names and details are all correct, I am fine. On another note, I think I need to pay more attention on this as the price is Php 140.00/piece. Not cheap. Maarte lang kasi talaga ako, I am always a fan of embossed invitations plus I have crystal beads pa on the invitation. Fair enough I guess. hhehee.

Will give an update on the endless task I need to do.. For now, I need to choose my song lists for the wedding..

Where to prep?

I am already scouting for possible venue for my bridal preparations. I initially wanted Edsa Shangrila because of its elegance, nice staircase for photo-ops, and of course its a five star hotel. But then, taking into consideration the people inside the hotel room : suppliers, entourage, family members, it might be too small to accommodate all of us. So Edsa Shang is out of the list already. I am down to my two choices:

* ASTORIA PLAZA

Room

Astoria Lobby

I have been hearing about good reviews about this serviced apartment which is very good for wedding preps. Though I haven't visited the place yet based on the reviews, the rooms are spacious, it provides good lighting, not strict when it comes to bringing in of food and syempre, affordable. I know every bride deserves to relax and rest well before the big day but hotel preps is not our top priority so I am not willing to spend a lot on my wedding preps venue. This comes within my budget as based on their website, the published room - twin bed is priced around Php9k++ a night.I have yet to confirm this with them.

* Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalge Center
Another serviced apartment which is gaining popularity among w@wies because of its spacious rooms, nice location and affordable rates. I think they are priced @ Php12k++for a twin bedroom.

Living Room and Dining Area

Room

Bathroom

Considering the space and location, I found these two hotels at the top of my list. When I had my trial make-up with Jesy, I asked her which hotel is best for bridal preps and she suggested the two hotels above as they are spacious which is a "must" during the preps as probably there will be around 30 people inside so you don't want to be all cramped up inside. Another thing to consider is the lighting needs of your photographers/videographers. In order to produce that amazing photos, good lighting is needed. These two are the top hotels that offers that. And of course, the main reason why we are scouting for hotels is - - price. You don't want to burn a hole in your pocket for a two-day stay right? So its wise to choose a preps venue which meets basically 3 things - location, space, price. At least for me, I will just choose between the two. Hopefully I can decide early so that I can get a good bedroom location. Any suggestions?