Reception.. Check!

Ok. After booking the photographer, I moved on and started venue hunting na rin. I initially wanted my reception to be held somewhere near manila bay for a sunset wedding effect sana. We also thought of having our reception in a hotel but after requesting the latest wedding packages that hotels around the vicinity offers, we need to think  of another plan. I wanted Coconut Palace sana but then our wedding date falls on a month where the weather is still unpredictable. We cannot risk having it outside then rent some tents for plan B. No offensement to those having it on an open space, its just that for us talagang we don't want to panic about the weather.  So I want to have a garden feeling type of setup but rainfree.I have a couple of indoor garden venues in mind:

- Fernwoods
-Fernbrooks
-Gazebo Royale
-Glass Garden

Here are some of the pics of the Glass Garden from different website and sources .(sorry I forgot so I cannot credit the one who took the photos)

 

I am also very particular about the CR.  I want it to be always clean and mabango. 

 Among the four, I am eyeing the glass garden since I am from Antipolo and Don is from Pasig. So location wise, this has the advantage. The only downside is, there are limited churches to choose from but that's another topic. heehhe. So going back, I have emailed glass garden to inquire. Again, good thing our date was still open for reservation. I did not think twice and booked it without paying a visit first. I trusted their AE, Katrina, on what she thinks is best for us. We chose the Diamond Garden. Actually, the Diamond and Emerald are just the same size and same specs. Its just that I learned from a w@wie that if you want to hold your reception at noon, better have it in the Diamond. Also, this garden is very accessible to the guest as it is near the gate so madali sha makita.  When I went there for an ocular. I knew I did the right thing of booking them. From the manong guard up to the AE (Katrina) herself, they were all courteous and very accommodating. She toured me around the vicinity and explained what happens during a wedding. She even suggested several caterers who delivers very well during wedding functions. The events hall is beautiful by itself. What more if we spruce it up by adding some swags and mood lighting effects. hmmmm.. I can already see the look on my guests faces when they see the place. hahaha. (crossing my fingers). Till next update.:)

Photographer - Check!

Our top priorities for our wedding are photographer/ videographer as we believe that this is what will be left for us after the wedding rites are over. We want to reminisce time and time again that special day for both of us. We want to share it to our next generation. hahaha. (Drama ko)... Way back 2008 pa lang I have already joined w@w. There I discovered a lot of very good P/V and one that caught my attention was Dino Lara. Grabe I constantly check his website to see weddings he had covered. But sad to say, when I started planning for our wedding, he is really out of our budget. So again, I had to let go. Good thing because there are lots of equally good photographers out there and one of them is Nelwin Uy. I like his style. Very creative and his candid shots look amazing. I checked his portfolio and liked it very much so I decided to text him to inquire as I thought good photographers get booked easily. 

I must have been very lucky because he is still available on my wedding date. He replies fast and he's got good feedbacks in w@w. My coordinator also recommended him when I told them I am searching for one. I have yet to schedule a meeting with him but I know his schedule is so full especially this coming December. I just want to see his album samples. Importante kasi yun for me. Not only what you see in the website. I'm thinking of upgrading our package after the wedding though from package B to Fully Loaded.

Tips from Sheng

As a bride-to-be, I took down notes of the things that I think are helpful for  achieving a stress-free wedding. Here are some of my tips that I do in my wedding preps. The outcome is good if you follow certain tips.Hope it inspires other brides-to-be.Happy reading!

I just really hope I will be able to follow my own tips as I go along the way. :)

Collections of ideas for soon to be brides

Tip No. 1

Plan your wedding way ahead of time. I got this suggestion from my co-w@wies and they are absolutely right. There is no time limit in planning your wedding (but there is in implementing them).hehehehe.. This way, you can avoid the "rush hours" of finding a specific supplier and the ever famous"last minute decisions" that could lead you in choosing the wrong team for your wedding. Also, it can give you a lot of free time to decide,or choose your suppliers-to-be, the ones you like and preferred.By having a lot of time to plan, you can organize and conceptualize your dream wedding.

Tip No.2

Buy or borrow wedding magazines and supplier's book. Having at least 1 wedding magazine is already enough for a bride-to-be who wants to have more ideas in conceptualizing her dream wedding. Though the price of magazine is kinda expensive, it will still help you out in your wedding preps. For instance, I bought 2 magazines and 1 supplier book (syempre latest edition ng W@w ). The first one is Wedding Essentials latest edition and 1 Metro Weddings (back issue). I don't need to spend so much on these stuff but I must agree that I got a lot of ideas for my preps. These magazines will give you ideas of  what's hot and what's not in preparing for your wedding. Also, they have images and pictures of beautiful wedding gowns and entourage gowns and where can you get those. This is beneficial especially for those bride-to be- that has limited internet use.

Tip No. 3

Google-it. (Or any search engine you know-web based).I know..I know.. we are in the world of new technologies and gadgets and this one is offering you a hassle-free and effortless way of searching and finding a specific supplier. Since most of us have internet access in the office and more often than not, Google and other search engines are not uhm..blocked, you can take advantage of it and try researching. (Just don't let yourself caught in the act by your boss). Another thing is,well, I think most of the suppliers now have their own website or email address. Use this to inquire and perhaps meet up with a prospect supplier since I believe some suppliers respond to emails quickly. As for me, I was able to inquire the most essential suppliers in the wedding just by email and I've got a response fast. Just maximize the use of these search engines and you will find thousands of ideas from just clicking the link ...

Tip No. 4

Join wedding communities and websites. This is the first thing that I did for the start of my preps.At first, I just have ideas-common ideas to be exact on how and what I like for my own wedding. After joining several sites, (syempre weddingsatwork.com ang very high recommended ko) I am somewhat, enlightened for what I really want in my wedding. I have more options for suppliers,additional ideas especially if you're working on a budget like me. hehehehe..My w@w sisters are very helpful and they are not "madamot" in sharing their ideas and would even give advices, to help you achieve your dream wedding.Don't be hesitant to ask, they are very accomodating. The super ever reliable supplier ratings of the newly weds is a great help for those soon to be's for you can have an idea/knowledge the suppliers you will be getting.And may additional pa, friendships and bondings that occur among the group members. San k pa di ba? :-)

Tip No. 5

Attend bridal fairs. I think this is the most helpful tool when planning a wedding-be it simple or elegant. It will do you no harm if you visit bridal fairs,even if you haven't started on planning your wedding. For me, I have attended a couple of bridal fairs and I can say that by attending this, I have trimmed down my ideas on which suppliers offers great bargain but has quality work. Yeah, supplier websites are beautiful but you really don't know unless you see the actual work.If you're thinking that this is just another waste of money, think twice.If you're a member of the community already, there are announcements naman when and where this event takes place eh. And if you pre-register online, your entrance fee is free!!  Its also a very good place to book suppliers for this is time they offer freebies, you can haggle the price,you can see the actual work and you can decide for yourself. A great way of saving moolah..

Tip No. 6

Learn to  Do-It-Yourself. We all know that planning and preparing for a wedding is not an easy task and can be expensive (for some). So as a practical bride-to-be, one way to cut down on expenses is to DIY (Do-it-yourself). I, for one will have something that I want to do by myself or at least with the help of my family and friends.I am thinking of doing my missalettes, STD,(Save the Date), and some gifts and favors for my guests.Though it can be very tiring and requires a lot of patience and perseverance (which I lack unfortuantely hehehehe..)but at least you can choose the design that you want,you have a lot of options to choose from ad best of all, its economical. This way, you can minimize the cost of your wedding and at the same time, its more personalized.