Booking for the Holidays wasn't just about spending Christmas at home with the family...Ever since our 1-year countdown mark, I, for one became too preoccupied booking appointments and making the most out of the vacation.
We took advantage of the holidays that we are in Manila to meet as much suppliers as we can.
First on the list was of course, doing our ocular at Emperor Event Center in Antipolo...This will be the first time that we get to see where we will be officially saying our "I Do"s...We scheduled an appointment on 22nd of December with Gino, our Account Executive.
Emperor Event Center
Next on our list was meeting our Wedding Coordinator, Ayie! Good thing, out of her busy schedule -- and due to the month, being a Wedding Season...she was able to squeeze us in and meet us. We scheduled to meet her on the29th December.
We also managed to set a meeting with Agie, of Cheesecake to discuss on our Entourage Gowns. Cheesecake specializes in making Infinity Gowns, a gown we opted to consider since it's basically hassle-free in a lot of factors, from size...to design....plus its cheaper compared to having a Custom-Made Gown. Luckily, I contacted Agie and booked a bit early so she was still able to accommodate meeting us despite her sunod-sunod na appointments. Our schedule with her will be on 28th of December.
So far, on the Suppliers List, these three are the ones I was able to book appointments with.
Hoping for more things to accomplish while we are in Manila!
We are finally booking our venue! And slowly our dreams are coming to reality!
Although we have yet to do our own ocular of the place, we have entrusted the decision to my Mom and Dad who went to visit and do the ocular on our behalf.
The place had a garden, for the ceremony...and across it was the Glass Hall for the reception. The place also had a Pavilion with bridal suite and two other bedrooms. The whole resort also had 3 additional rooms that can be used at an additional price.
Fiance and I got interested with the venue since we were informed that the Pavilion can roughly accommodate around 50pax. With that in mind, we may be able to have our whole entourage sleep over the night before the wedding.
Below are the pics of the place.
Garden where the Ceremony will be held (on its left is the Imperial Glass Hall)
Inside the Glass Hall where the Reception will take place
The place has its own pool that we can use the day after the wedding.
The Pavilion where the Bridal Suite is. (On its left is the view of the pool)
When we go back to Manila for the Holidays, we will be visiting this venue for the first time. Hope we get the "This is it-Moment".
It is officially 1 Year to go before the big day, 14 November 2013...and how time flies by so fast...I feel like it was only yesterday that I got engaged. Up to this point, after 4 months from my engagement, I'm still mesmerized when I see something sparkling by my ring finger every time I type in my keyboard. Lol!
Reality is slowly starting to kick-in...that this day next year will be the day I will be entering yet a new chapter in my life! No longer a MS. but a MRS...No longer one...No longer Single... :)
I've always felt overwhelmed with the turn of events in our lives. And I am forever blessed because, despite the "downs" accompanied with "ups", every little thing eventually falls into its rightful place.
Thank you so much Lord God!!! I'm in Bliss and I am Blessed!
A wide-range of color combo is a sure-ball-thing in our big day...however the type of color was the big question...Initially what I really wanted was Rainbow Colors in Pastel Shade...but people somehow mistake it as just "pure" rainbow color whereby the R-O-Y-G-B-V is complete..and so they would immediately comment that going for this motif is quite a risk since our event may turn out to be a birthday party instead of a wedding.
So, over time and over a lot of lurking on wedding blogs and inspirations, we have eventually changed our wedding motif to Pastel Shade...and since we love colors, we won't limit ourselves to just choosing two...and so instead we combined 7 colors all in cool and dreamy shades of Pastel ^_^
Every little detail is still a work in progress! And it's just too overwhelming to incorporate all things I see and read, into my special day!
Here's a rough patch of the colors we are now eyeing on!
Although we have yet to confirm and finalize our venue and some other major suppliers...we have started eyeing out and identifying our Sponsors and Entourage...
So far, we have officially confirmed 5 of our Ninongs, our MOH, 3 of my Bridesmaid, 1 Groomsman, and 2 Secondary Sponsors...Yey!
The list is still a long way to go...and apparently we can only confirm by word-of-mouth for now, since Papa P wanted to formally invite them once all details, venue, that is...has already been confirmed and finalized... :)
Excited for the days and months to come..May God Bless our Plans! :)
We are now officially 3 months since getting engaged...but still no confirmed venue yet! Bummer!!!
But on another note, I am very proud to announce that we have closed yet another supplier...not just one, but two MAJOR suppliers!!! A big fat check on Catering Services and Wedding Coordinator!!! Yey!!! ^_^
Both suppliers are such a big steal...let me tell you why!
After lurking on w@w yahoogroups, I have come across a lot of popular names in Catering Services...Big Names include K by Cunanan, PassionCooks, Juan Carlo the Caterer, Queensland Catering, Hizon's, Bizu and a whole lot more...and since getting engaged, I have already started getting quotations from these names...hoping that I'd be able to get the best and most "sulit" one. Luckily, since we have recently attended two weddings, we had a first-hand experience with the food and styling by K by Cunanan and Juan Carlo the Caterer...and I tell you, as guests in wedding, first impressions really do last! Unfortunately, after hearing a lot of good things about K by Cunanan, we weren't that impressed with their dishes and how they set-up my friend's wedding...I know this may have been caused by a lot of other factors, but sad to say, our better judgement has been clouded. Hence, we scratched this off on our list...On the other hand, my cousin's wedding was served and styled by Juan Carlo...and this was exact opposite of what we ate and experienced at KbyC. We were immediately taken aback by their intimate and chic styling..and their food was to die for. I literally had a little bite of everything but arriving at my "busog" state, my plate was still full...plus, their office was located nearly a few kembots away from our house. Sooo...having no second thoughts, Papa P immediately told me to inquire on their rates...
Lo and Behold, after sending them email, they immediately replied back with their quotations. And at the time of my inquiry, they were currently on promotion. (Ain't we lucky?!?) Their usual standard pricing was Php300.00 cheaper and the tax and other charges were all waived...plus availing of this on their promo period means upgraded buffet styling, upgraded table centerpieces, upgraded dessert table plus more freebies like Wedding Cake and a Bridal Car. Ako na!!!
Next on the "scratched-off-list" was the Wedding Coordinator...
Initially, we were not prioritizing on getting one since I wanted, as much as possible, to be really hands-on with the planning. But after getting feedback from friends regarding the importance of a coordinator, especially during the wedding day...i was convinced. The Wedding Day should be stress-free and hence, all these worries should be turned-over to them before the Big Day!
So after not-much convincing, I started inquiring...until I came across Imbitado Events, a name that is also quite popular in the W@W Community. They were not on any promo at the time of my inquiry...but their rates was the cheapest, plus Ayie, the coordinator herself, was very easy to talk to.
I spoke with Papa P and convinced him as well that this group is popular and cheap and had so many good reviews...and that we had to get them right away before our date gets booked by somebody else. Papa P wasn't really hard to convince...as long as you tell him "cheap and good reviews/service" then it's pretty much a "go" for him.
So..there you have it, two more addition to the list! ^_^
Thank You Lord for leading us to the right suppliers. Continue to guide us step-by-step as come near to our big day!
Okay, I know I have promised crossing off Venue and Catering from the list before August ends...and obviously, now that we are on a new Month, things have not gone as initially planned.
But thankfully and unexpectedly, we were still able to tick another one from our checklist...the Hair and Make-Up Artist!
Out of the blue, while browsing and lurking over W@W yahoogroups, I have read so much good reviews about this particular artist, Tippy Destacamento. And so I quickly checked him through Facebook to get his rates. Initial plan was to just get quotation from him and compare him to other HMUAs. This was basically least of our priorities at the moment, since there were still more important things to accomplish.
To my surprise, he immediately responded to my message (this was the first time I received response right away - as in within a span of just a few minutes, he replied agad-agad! -- I think I was lucky since maybe I thought he was online during the time I messaged him). He shared with me an on-going promotion that he was having...a deal that I knew I couldn't let go off. So to calm my curious mind, I tried checking the rates of other well-known HMUAs via online -- same peg and within the likes of Tippy. My jaw dropped when I found out how expensive they all were compared to him, and moreso now that he had a promo. So I quickly called Papa P and shared with him what I found out. He also agreed with me that we take the promo immediately because it was a good deal. And better to price lock now since even if he did not confirm it, I knew there will soon be price increase, most especially that our event will still be by late next year.
So that same day, we deposited 30% to price lock and reserve the date. Yey!
Even though words don't have feelings/emotions, I can feel excitement from him through our email exchange. He even initiated to send me Whatsapp message so it would be easier for us to communicate. It's all true what I read from the W@W YahooGroups, he is very easy to talk to and very very accommodating. Even though I haven't met him personally yet, alam ko we will both click! So I am very much looking forward to meet him in person soon!
So....there you have it! Another check on the list...
TIPPY DESTACAMENTO for Hair and Make Up!
Let's see how we go along...I won't promise anything na...but I'm still hoping we get to finalize na our Venue and Catering.
It has been a month now since Papa P and I got engaged. And so far, we have crossed out two suppliers; one of which I think, is very important to book as early as now, the photo and video.
There's still a long way to go and a long list to fulfill and as of today, we still have 14 months till the big day.
Next on the list is the Venue and the Catering!
We have requested my sis and bro to do ocular in three venues in Antipolo -- the top three we were eyeing on. And for them, they do have a definite winner...a place, which after much convincing from them, we also came to love and so we decided to get.
However, we are still torn between choosing if we are only to get the venue or avail of their package, which pretty much includes the catering and the styling. The latter would have made our lives easier since all-in packages would cost just about half compared to when you will get separate suppliers for catering and styling. However, after doing some extensive research on their partnered caterer, we have found some negative feedback from previous clients. Although they say that each client is a unique case, Papa P still didn't want to take the risk. Hence, problem still not solved. Waah! The dilemma of an overseas couple...geeez!
We are still praying about making this big leap in our preps. Hopefully by end of August, we have already made our final decision.
This is officially it!!! We have finally made our first down payment to two of our suppliers.
1. Nice Print Photography for our Photo/Video and PhotoBooth (20% of the whole package)
2. Joy San Gabriel for Cake (Php1, 000 Reservation)
I am in bliss... :) I know for some, this stage is no biggie, but for me, booking your first ever supplier is a clear sign that this is it...and there's no looking back now.
We were actually supposed to book our targeted Venue with package for Catering as well, since we have been eyeing on this one for quite some time now. I have been closely coordinating with the AE and she was very easy to talk to and besides, this supplier fits exactly our preference for a garden wedding and fits exactly our budget. (which is a very big deal!) But then since we have not physically visited the place, Papa Peers decided to ask my Sis and Bro to check out the venue first and share with us how they find the place...this will really help us a lot in deciding.
Anyway my Sis and Bro will be having the ocular this Monday, hopefully we will be able to get good feedback.
This is definitely next on our list. And I know that if we are able to finally book...mas lalong exciting!
Prayer Note: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your provision. We continue to entrust to your our planning and we pray that you grant us the wisdom to choose our suppliers. We bring you back all the glory, In Jesus Name. Amen!
Now that we have confirmed some suppliers from the recent Bridal Caravan we attended, these suppliers are one by one, now following-up with us on our deposit/down payment. I know how very crucial this first step is, since giving your down payment means blocking off the date exclusively for you.
So far today, two suppliers have already been following up with us...Good thing I am able to delay a bit since Papa P and I haven't really sat down and discuss our budgeting strategy.
This, I believe, is where women are experts of. While delaying and while waiting for H2B to discuss money matters, I was able to negotiate the payment terms with one of our suppliers. (gudjab!) This is very much important since you don't want to drown yourself with huge amounts of payables all at the same time.
So anyway, Peers and I will be discussing on this matter soon. Hopefully we'd be able to settle (at least our budgeting) until end of this week so we can proceed and start scratching off from our suppliers' list.
Prayer Note: God was, is and will forever be our provider! We lift up all our planning to you and may your will be done accordingly. Amen!
And thank God that even if we were an hour late from the time the event started, we were still one of the few ones who arrived first... (Filipino Time nga naman!)
We were targeting on Photo and Video, Catering, Cake and Invitations. Well actually, we were targeting mostly on the Photo and Video since this is one of the suppliers that's crucial to get and book (apart from venue and catering)
So then, first off was the Photo and Video, we inquired first at Nice Print Photography, which actually got a good spot mainly because their booth was the first booth you'll see upon registration. This, by far, was the "bestest" deal we got from the whole fair. We got the Centuria Package upgraded with Prenup (waived OOT fee for location), AVP Presentation and On the Day Editing. Basically all in all, we were able to save Php41, 000 ++ out of the freebies and discounts we got. (Imagine that!) I have actually been liaising with Charisse (the owner) via email a couple of weeks back and had actually pencil booked our date for 14November14. But after I found out that they were included in the Caravan, I knew I had to wait and attend this event before confirming on anything. And good enough, naging sulit ang pagiging patient...Imagine if we booked prior to the fair, we could have not gotten discounts/upgrades and freebies. Btw, while we were still at it...we booked a PhotoBooth with them as well, which only had minimal addition on top of the photo/video package we got. (Good Deal!)
Next off was Catering Services. The only supplier participating for this area was Josiah's Catering. And we met the owners as well. Rates were still the same but the rep we spoke with upgraded the package to Pasta Bar instead of just a dish and waived off the vat which amounted around Php20, 000 ++. However the only concern with Josaih's was that they don't have any inclusive packages to the Venue we were targeting to get. After requesting for quotation from the venue (including their accredited catering services) they would still be cheaper compared to Josaih's package. So this one, although we signed up for them, is still pending until we confirm first the venue.
Next stop was Joy San Gabriel, she's one of the very popular suppliers for Cakes and Pastries. And since she was highly recommended by my friend who recently got married, we had to check her out. Cake will be sponsored by Papa P's sister, Ate Shayne. So we inquired from her booth and we checked out how much the rates are for her cakes. For this one, we pretty much got a good deal as well, since apart from the 3-tier personalized and customized cake that we will avail, we will be able to convert the first two upper layers to either individual 8 pcs 6" round cakes or 50 pcs cupcakes with variety of flavours. And apart from this, if we confirm until the offer lasts, we will be given 10-12 bottles of biscuits (2 dozens per bottle) -- which we tried and tasted during the event, and oh was it super delicious! So for this one, we pretty much were convinced to get as well.
After the cake, next on our list was the Invitations. We tried to check the supplier for the invitation, but both booths "Printsonalities" and "WINK" were occupied and had customers inquiring. And since we were running out of time and had to rush to go to church at 2PM, we can't wait any longer and so we just decided to let it pass. Anyway, these are just minor suppliers and I was actually just thinking of DIY-ing my invitations.
Mission Almost Complete -- almost, since too bad we didn't get to inquire for the invitations. But nevertheless, we were still satisfied. After checking out and confirming good packages for Photo and Video and the Wedding cake, our day was pretty much complete. So, still not bad for a first timer couple!
Looking forward to more fairs within the next months!
Who would've thought that amidst the whirlwind in Wedding Preps...and considering the fact that we are both overseas and have no idea with whatever wedding suppliers there are... Christine Ong-Te, a popular Wedding Event Coordinator in the Philippines has partnered with Wedding Essentials Magazine and organized a Bridal Fair right here in SG. Thank God!!!
Fiance and I are both super excited and looking forward to attending our first ever Bridal Fair this coming Sunday, 18 August 2013...
And we are both praying that we get good deals on this event!
One boring day at work, I was doodling at my notebook and came up with this...
And so I thought, what a nice idea for our logo...but since I lack the technical skills and the ability to work around the computer, I had no idea how to have this in soft copy...
And then I remembered my ex-colleague who was our IT guy in my first company. He was basically our all-around IT person...With good skills in Graphic/Web Designing. I sent him FB message to check if he's bored (lol!)...and asked him huge favor if he could copy the one I drew and make it a logo...
After a few exchanges of email and few revisions, he finally sent me two final drafts...
Can you imagine that all this was just through email and FB. Kudos Bossing Erik! ^_^
Anyway, I showed these two to Papa P...And he chose the one with the outline, because it looked more sharp compared to the first one which looked a bit blur because of the colours.
After picking the winner, I thought that it looked too plain and lacking in detail...For those not aware of how "cheers" came about, they would think it's just a plain word.
And so I searched online for samples of monograms/logos...and most of what I saw consisted of the couples' names or their initials and date of their wedding day. Some with borders in a round shape...and some was in square shape...etc...
Since originally, the word "Cheers" was in round shape...I thought that it would be nice to have this as a background instead of having borders...and then I thought of just putting our names and the date of our wedding...
After a few attempts and trial-and-error...and after getting the opinion of H2B, this was our final output.
I wanted something simple but will still show our chosen "pastel rainbow" motif. At the same time, I wanted our monogram/logo to showcase our infamous couple name "Cheers" ^_^
For me and Papa P, there's never a dull moment (or so I believe! ^_^) And this does not only manifest in our personalities, but also with the way we present ourselves... :)
For those of you who know me, I LOVE COLOURS! And obviously "black", "brown", and "gray" is never an option...I only use these colours to neutralize different colour combinations.
So thinking about which motif to get (and thanks to my mom for the inspiration), I thought of getting rainbow colours. But when I shared this with H2B, he was concerned that our event might turn out like a Birthday Party and not a Wedding (Well, I understand his sentiments here) hehe!
So I searched online for pegs of such motif and landed on a page depicting various colours -- not too strong and still cool to the eyes. And thanks to Pinterest, we have actually seen weddings with such motif. Having Pastel Rainbow may not be conventional for now -- but still, it is workable. <3
So there you have it, the Pastel Rainbow... ^_^
Exciting and I can just imagine how it will all turn out... ^_^
I have always assumed that prepping for a Wedding is a bit overwhelming, thus sometimes if left out-of-control, can turn out to be a cause of stress.
And now that Fiance and I are starting with the preps, I have never actually imagined that even in choosing "THE DATE", it can already be too overwhelming...
If it was just up to Me and Papa P to decide, it's easy as a pie...We will pick our special day when we officially became a couple, Feb 14. But after consideration of a whole lot of other factors (ie. availability of family members, availability of most guests that we will be inviting, peak/off peak season, weekday/weekend) and also taking into consideration that Me, Papa P and Peers' family are all overseas and that most of our guests are also coming from overseas too...it took us a long time to finally set a date. We needed to prioritize and put the pros and cons for each of our targeted days.
Year will be 2014...this one was easy since 2013 will be too rush for us.
We chose between April and December first...April being a summer season and December since its a holiday. We thought this would be convenient months for the majority since our guests from overseas will have all the reason to go back to the Philippines for vacation or holidays.
When we laid out these two dates, both had more cons rather than pros...For one, budget-wise...April would be too near for us...and Secondly, December (although this was both our top choice - alanganin for Peers' Mom who will not be able to take leave from work since, ika nga Peak Season sya). Apart from these obvious reasons, there was actually a whole lot more "uhmmms" and "ahmmms", so we just thought it would be best to let go of these dates.
So to be safe, we moved one month earlier, hence landing to November...
This looked all right for me and H2B...besides, "11" is his number...and November, I think is a safe month whereby Rainy Season is already over and the weather is just about "perfect" (not raining and yet can still feel the cool breeze of the "ber"-months). Apart from this, November as for most suppliers, is not a Peak Month for weddings...and rates are reasonable compared to when you hold your wedding on a December -- usually the prices shoot up and this is the time most suppliers increase their rates for the coming year. H2B initially thought of 11-3-2014...Because "11" is his number, "3" is my number" and "14" is both our numbers...but then coming to our senses, we realized that this wasn't a good day since it will be right after "All Saints" and "All Souls" Day...Lol! (It actually gave me the creeps...haha!). So we just decided since 14th of November is our Monthsary Date...and Year will be 2014. We just went for 14-11-14. :) Yey!
So there you have it, after carefully taking into consideration a WHOLE LOT OF FACTORS...we finally agreed to our date...still with our fave number as a couple, 14... <3
I had no idea that this was going to happen...as in! If you know me well, you would be wondering why I was wearing my "bangs" up in a clip...I actually had no make-up on, and was not physically at my best at this point...because for me, I was only looking forward to spending the day at the beach...and besides, we left the house at 5 in the morning.
I was practically asleep the whole trip...and we were on "convoy" since our destination was at a Marine Camp in Cavite...and rumor has it, this place had lots of NPA...so delikado most especially if you are not familiar with the place, which we weren't.
After hours and hours of driving, we finally reached our destination. We all had to go down to register at the main entrance...And since I just woke up from my sleep, my sister and I was the last to go down from the car...
Clueless that I was, I did not even wonder why all of them, all of a sudden, rushed to go to register...What bothered me was that Peers went ahead to go with the rest, without even waiting for me. And what actually even bothered me more was that my dad asked him to drive the other car and go ahead first together with my brother, my brother's gf and the rest of our companions...I was like, "Hello, kasama mo ako!" I was already a little pissed during this time...but I was letting it pass because what the heck, I was on vacation!
So me, my mom, my sis, Yaya Grace with Reika and Inno was left at the entrance... we waited for my dad to register the other car. (Note: It was only now that I'm realizing why everyone was acting weird during that time...kahit ung mga asa gate na may mga hawak na baril and all...they all acted weird and was looking at us suspiciously...yun pala...they all knew what was going to happen!)
And so after my dad was done, we hopped on the car and went ahead the steep road leading to the beach...During this time, I was already wide awake and excited...
Driving on our way down the road, a guy riding a motorcycle stopped our car...I got scared since we know that this place was NPA-infested...I even told my dad not to stop...kasi nga delikado...But he did stop anyway (Do Not Do This At Home! seriously!) He knocked on my dad's window and to my surprise, looked for me "Meron po ba ditong Chesca?"...Good thing my reaction wasn't captured...but I could still remember how I looked like...Super Gulat and Takot...I even said, "Bakit po??? Anong meron??? Anong nangyari?"...And then, he handed out a white rose...Surprised!?! I said, "Ano toh?"
During this time, I somehow had an idea already that this was all Peers' pakulo...so we drove again...and was stopped by yet another guy on a motorcycle...he handed me another rose...I was feeling nervous already at this time...even asking my dad if he knew anything about it...
And so we drove again...until my Brother-In-Law, also in his motorbike stopped us for the third time and handed me three white roses...haha!
At this point...it was all getting clear! But I never really knew what the final pakulo was...I was only expecting Peers, at the end of the road, handing me like a bouquet or something...and at this point, I still did not expect that he was proposing na...So after Macoy handed me three white roses...we drove again...and after a few minutes...From afar, we saw a road-block...slowly getting nearer and nearer...that's the time it all dawned on me...Ayun na!!! A long banner with the words "Chesca, Will you Marry Me?" I had no other reaction but to just shout and shout...
The rest of it, watch the video...
Funny lang that I never knew all along my sister, who was sitting in front of me, was taking a video all along...hence, the uploaded Proposal!
