Booking our Venue - Emperor Event Center

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".

Cheers! <3

1 Year to Go!!! No longer a Miss... :)

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!

Cheers!

From Rainbow to Pastel Colors! A Whimsical Wedding!

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!

Cheers! <3

Confirming the Sponsors and Entourage List! ^_^

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! :)

Cheers!!! ^_^

A Big-Fat Check to Juan Carlo the Caterer and Imbitado Events! ^_^

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!

Cheers! ^_^

Another Check on the List - TIPPY DESTACAMENTO for HMUA

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.

Cheers! ^_^

1st Month Mark

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.