i'm baaack!

Sometimes I wonder why I even blog.
It's not like I have a grand wedding to prepare for. Heck, most of the requirements traditional requirements, I'm trying to do without. I do not have updates for bridesmaid dresses, entourage chorva. 'Cos I don't have bridesmaids. Hehe

Well, sometimes, it's just fun to write about things. :D

So why was I MIA? Well, work is the primary reason! Been really busy with our Boracay project last March, and was there for 2 weeks. When I came back, got busy with Pamanhikan! Well, didn't really have the time to get busy, since we got back on a Friday, and pamanhikan was scheduled the coming Sunday! Anyway, more on the pamanhikan in a bit. After the uber successful pamanhikan, had to attend to work... Well, I still have work now, but it's just editing. :)

So what happened at our pamanhikan? FUN!!! It was so much fun! The adults were talking like they were old friends, food was good great! And abundant! :D

We scheduled the pamanhikan for dinner, 'cos we wanted to give time to Gegma and daddy who are cooking everything! They (Dad, Mom, Gegs, Ogoy and Cas) spent the night at Tita Seet's, so they are nearer our place (Carmona). They went to the wet market early morning, and started cooking! They finished mid-afternoon! We had Cuyonon delicacies -- yuum! We had adobado, lengua and dinuguan. We also had prawns cooked in oyster sauce, grilled tuna, chopsuey, and grilled liempo! For dessert, Tita Seet and Ng Jo gave buco lychee sorbet and my mom served her (experiment) mango-gelatin flan. 

At first, we were a bit, hmm, what's the word? We were not really agitated, more of.... fidgety. :D But all's well that ends well. Turned out, we had nothing to worry about 'cos the adults were all ready and open and friendly! :))
On my side, my aunt Essie, Tito Manny, Tito Etoy and Aunt Ellen, and of course, Nanay Edith were there. Aside from Gegs' parents and nephews, Tita Seet, Ng Jo, and Tito Ga were also present. We were a big and loud bunch! We're just so glad that everything felt right, and things just sort of fell into place.

So after the pamanhikan, what next?

Well, we still do not have a reservation for the church.. We need the documents, and I still don't have my confirmation certificate. I will get gegma's documents in May. Last time I checked with the church (about a week ago), they were still open for our date -- 10-20-2010.

As for the venue -- Cafe Ysabel, well, I guess we'll just set a meeting with Ate Glady the same day we are set to go to the church to file for our wedding date.

What about the other things? Hmm, well, I guess we have pegs and ideas on what we want. It's just a matter of blending them together. There must still be synergy in our quirkiness. Haha

What else? Nothing much. For now, I'm just too excited for my good friend D and JC's wedding NEXT WEEK!! I still don't have anything to wear! Plus, I gained weight after Boracay! So much for losing-a-few-and-keeping-them-off! 

Off topic: from taft to north

Naging napaka-abala ng mga nagdaang linggo, at hindi dapat ako magpo-post dito. Wala rin naman akong update sa mga paghahanda para sa aming pina-planong pagpapasakal. Este, pagpapakasal.
Ngunit kanina, sa aking paghihintay ng MRT upang maglakbay patungong North Ave., may nasaksihan akong raid sa tapat lamang ng MRT station. Tanaw kasi mula sa aking kinatatayuan ang mga establisyamento (mga videoke at pares house) sa kahabaan ng EDSA-Taft. Bandang 10:30 ng gabi na iyon. Nagulat kami dahil biglang andaming mga lalaking naka-asul ang bumaba ng kanilang mga motor, at pumasok sa pares house. Nagbubulungan ang aking mga katabi na baka raid--baka daw may mga menor de edad. Sa lahat ng kaguluhan, (bukod sa napakalaking letra at sumisigaw na kulay dilaw na pangalan sa likod ng mga t-shirt na nagsasabing "POLICE") ito lang ang aking napansin: ni isa sa kanila, walang naka helmet.
***
Matagal tagal pa kaming naghintay para sa tren. Puno na rin ang platform ng mga naghihintay. Naroon ako sa bahagi na inilalaan para sa mga babae at matatanda. Sa wakas dumating ang tren. S'yempre, nagkagulo na. Bakit kasi pinipilit pumasok ng mga tao, eh may mga papalabas pa nga. Hindi na ba maiaayos ito? At syempre napansin ko agad ang babaeng nakadilaw na pilit sumingit para pumasok. Kami kasing nasa harap (at unang dumating para mag-abang sa tren) ay naghihintay na makalabas ang mga bababa. At itong babaeng ito na maayos ang damit at mukhang edukada naman, nagpumilit sumingit. Hindi makapaghintay. At nang makapasok, proud pa. Maparaan nga naman daw siya.
Tingin niyo?

another gift!

Been a bit busy (well, there goes an understatement) with work the last few weeks, and I wasn't able to attend to wedding-planning concerns.


But just yesterday (or was it the other day? I'm too busy to keep track!), a very very good friend of ours, our dear ate Cathy, texted me to ask me about our preparations. I told her it was going to be a very small, very intimate wedding, and that she should come! October 20 it is.


Surprise! She very generously offered her vehicle to serve as my bridal car. She even said she'll have the minor scratches and dents fixed before our wedding, so the vehicle will shine and shimmer. :D So happy! This is the perfect offer, cause actually, I didn't want to rent a bridal car, and have to shell out 3,000 to 5,000 bucks. I don't really care what type, just so long as I have a ride to the church! hehehe (Well, Gegs already has plans for the ride going to the reception venue, so that's a different story.) If ate Cathy didn't offer her vehicle, then I would've resorted to a) my sister driving (which she wouldn't like) or b) getting our good good service provider, Don Robert (NOT of Don Robert cars) and his trusty adventure :D


Thank you so much, ate Cath! It's the perfect gift!


bridal car
coins and arrhae

gift from JC and Dana

Yey! Dana, my good good friend from high school (who's also getting married--this May!), called to tell me that they have a gift from their wedding ring supplier: arrhae and cord! And since they're not gonna need these for their own wedding, they're giving them to us. Yipee! 2 items crossed out from my To-buy list. :))

Thanks D and JC! :)

photobooth vs band for reception

We initially wanted a photo booth, for the photos to serve as a souvenir for guests. But when I scanned the flyers I got from the wedding fair, they were all a bit expensive for us :( And since we confirmed Cafe Ysabel, we thought the place would be too small for a photobooth set-up (well, we still think it is, but we'll see..)

Anyhoo, I scratched the idea from my mind, and focused on finding a band instead. We really have a small budget, and a band is something we can do without (we think). Anyway, Sanctuario del Sto Cristo has an organist, so we just need a church singer if ever. But am still scouting for affordable band or singer. Stumbled upon Escapade band, and they're perfect! We want a bossa nova-jazzy feel if ever.
But I just called them, and they're already booked for our date. So there goes our band..

Luckily, I also found out about Photobot, and it just so happens, they have a promo for 2010! I called Aggie immediately, and she just sent me a contract. Hmmm.. I also like the sample photo they have posted on their site (red and gold) and was thinking will just add a black edge/border for our motiff :) But we'll have to visit Ysabel first and look at the possible lay-out.

So there you go, another decision made, based from circumstances. It seems like for the things we have to decide on, something happens which will make one option unavailable, and the other a "go". I guess this means I just have to trust in fate and let go.

Just like when I found my Guegma. ♥

our rings! better photo

Here's a better picture of our rings (inside), courtesy of manong boodie, gegma's kuya :) He's going to be our wedding photog also. We didn't have the dates engraved yet. :)

run-down

Okay, so here's what we have so far, (and the things we need but do not have yet. Ohno.)
Venue: Check!
Cafe Ysabel, San Juan. Pencil-booked by ate Glady. Yey!

Church: Sanctuario de Sto Cristo, F. Blumetritt St, San Juan
Do not accept reservations, has to show documents. Which we'll get by April/May.

Gown, Hair and Make-Up: Check!
Sponsored. :) Gown measurements to be taken by May, I think. Have to ask for design from our Best Man. Naks. :) Will ask Gegs to follow-up from tito Ga. hehehe :D

 Flowers/Decor: Add-on flowers, from Dangwa! Gegs has a regular supplier there, I think. For decor, very minimal. Cafe Ysabel is already a charming place.

Groom's Suit: Check!
Sponsored by the Best Man, from head to foot styling :)

Hotel for Preps: Still scouting. Want the Legend Villas, but I'm thinking it's too far...

 

Wedding Bands: Check! Got em :))

Music for ceremony and reception: Still thinking about this.. We want a bossa-jazzy feel, which we can achieve with a playlist. We need a soloist for the Church though.

Other wedding paraphernalias: I'm going to ask my mom to do this. hehehe Including the misalette.

Invites: None yet. Might be DIY. Oh! I'd like our color scheme to be red, black and (still thinking) silver or white.

Giveaways: Thinking of rose pastillas from Sweet Blooms. Discovery in SM North! Tastes good, I liked it! And looks great. For me it's new. I'm gonna ask for red and black rose pastillas. :D

Cake: Might not get. Will have to ask Cafe Ysabel. Maybe their strawberry shortcake? Haha :))

Post-Wedding: Pencil-booked at the Rock Inn in Sagada! With special discount, hehehe

Photos/Videos: friends! :))

Entourage: No entourage. Haha I think we're just going to dress-up the kiddos.

OTD coordinator: Will set a meeting with ate Ivy. They might be able to give us a discount. :)

My list is random, hope I didn't miss anything! It's a loooong list. And we have a long way to go. All's good. It's just March. At least we're moving along. Haha!

we got our rings!

Happy! I know this is usually one of the last things that's accomplished, but for us, it was easy to get 'em. :)
We didn't plan on getting our rings so soon, but I was already canvassing for cost of custom-made wedding rings. We asked Gegma's mom's jeweller, and when we found out the price, we didn't hesitate, and ordered right away!
We got them yesterday, happiness :)) But we didn't have the date engraved yet, haha! Not until we book our church.
Design is very simple. White gold with grooves on the sides. Flat, semi-rounded edges, glossy/polished finish.
Ohno, my phone's camera is so bad :( will post better pictures from nong bood. :D
My ring size is 6. Gegma's is 11. Haha!

found a church!

Found another church in the San Juan/Mandaluyong area! It's an old church, not really small, but it has it's charms. Well, for one, it's waaaaay cheaper than Mary the Queen Parish. I believe MTQ is 15K, without the choir. But I really really like MTQ. I have doubts though, 'cos our wedding will be on a Wednesday. A school day in Greenhills? Uh-oh. Been there on a weekday, dismissal time, and area is packed. So we started looking for an alternative. And stumbled upon Sanctuario de Sto Cristo along F. Blumentritt St.

I called today, and guess what? It's just 5,000 for non-residents! And our date is free! Yey! Yey! Yey!
The 5 grand comes with the priest, the seminar, flowers for the altar, potted plants for the aisle (this is easy to solve, I'll let gegma decorate!), ushers and an organist! Yey!

The downside? We can't reserve the date unless we have our Baptismal and Confirmation certificates. Validity is 6 months, though. But she said it's okay, 'cos it's mid-March already. Anyway, I still don't have mine. It has to be annotated "For Marriage" or something. But mine's relatively easy to get. Just have to make sure I'll get it when I come back from Bora in April. Gegma's been trying to call his parents in Cuyo. Maybe they can get the certificates and bring them here when they visit for the pamanhikan.

Oohh, I do hope this chuch will work out. Will have to visit it and plot the route from church to our reception.

church and rings

We didn't get Archbishop's Palace :(

So sad, I called several times last week, and the week before that. I guess it's just not meant to be. :( Even though they have 2 chapels, they only accommodate one morning and one afternoon wedding.

So I guess we have to find another church, fast. Looks like October is a busy busy month for weddings. And well, we do have a good date. 10-20-2010

So moving on to the rings. I can't help myself! I'm so excited. These are the designs I liked so far.

This is 14K white gold. We're fine with just 14K. I researched, and there's nothing wrong with 14K, sometimes its better than 18K. I like the smooth, glossy finish. I think this will look good with my engagement ring. Maybe my wedding band wouldn't be as thick as Jong's :)

This one's nice too. Very similar to the first design above. But the first one looks like there are 3 rings in one. This one just has grooves in the middle, but not necessarily to look like there are 3 rings. I think I like a darker hue for our rings. Notice the difference from Picture on the left to the one below?

In case Gegs finds the above designs too fancy for his liking, I found simpler bands, which aren't too plain. I think I'm leaning towards the glossy/polished finish.

 

I like the detail at the edge of the rings, but this design would probably be my last choice..