This blog needs a some renovation....

So after 4 years, I think this blog needs a whole lot of renovation. New things have come and happen for the past 4 years.... New life with J, being new parents to E, new life here in NZ, new baby G coming...

Will start anew :)

Our Invites

Made by Concepts and Technology :)

Artista for a Day

3 outfits: Formal, Summer, College shirts, East Digital team, makeup artist Tippy, hairstylist and

assistant Tuesday, UST, Mang Inasal, rice all you can all sums up to our enjoyable Engagement shoot.

Wedding Updates - OTD and Caterer

Been busy the past months for the wedding preps. So far we've booked almost all our suppliers. And I am soooo sooooo glad to say that after some worries and lots of time thinking, the budget for our wedding will be coming solely from our paychecks which means that our savings and or investments will stay as is :) Thanks to our stock market and Jaylu's skills on these things. I spared myself from the stress the stock market would cause me and just let him take control of it. hehe. God really provides :)

For the wedding updates:

We've booked Myra Astilla and her team, Merriment Event Planner & Wedding Coordinators to be our OTD. Myra is very punctual. The first scheduled meeting didnt pushed through because we were an hour late, it was really our fault and punctual as she is, she does not want to be late on her next appointment. But come second meeting, even though I thought we were already punctual, guess what, she is still earlier than we are. And with that she really gained my respect. During the meeting, I felt that she is an expert on what she is doing and she is not the "sosyalera" and "maarte" type, which we like. So after 1 week, we paid the DP and blocked her on our date.

As for our caterer, we finally decided it will be Eloquente. After months and months of food tasting and checking on caterers setup, we chose them. Actually, we have 3 caterers to choose from as part of our package. CVJ, on which we didnt liked the food as early as food tasting, flavors is too strong for us, a.k.a maalat. Then we are torn between Delica and Eloquente. Both catering has the same taste of food. But what I liked about the menu set of Eloquente is that, theirs is not the usual food menu that an ordinary person would eat on a normal day. And they have the zen type design for their couples table or couch which is what we like for couple presentation. We find the usual table with flower thing and tiffany chairs old school.

So for now, what's missing are the rings (scheduled date is on May) and Invitations.

The Groom's Tuxedo

Next is my groom's attire. Jaylu is torn between wearing a Barong or a Coat and Tie. One consideration is the attire of the whole entourage. He is worried that our male entourage is going to have a hard time looking for their suit. Unlike with Barong, it is simpler to instruct them to just rent or buy a Barong, no need for color coordination since most Barong's are either white or off white. But deep in my heart he wanted a suit. For one, because it is not usual that he wears suit and our wedding day is very special so I wanted him to feel that this is his day too so Ill support him on whatever he prefers.

Then as we all know, Suit is more expensive that Barong. But beacuse it will be Ate Dayin who will take care of our wedding attire, and the owner of the tailor shop is my brother's family in law, we were able to get a big discount :)

During the meeting, Jaylu was able to try on some Coat and Tie, and yes, he is so pogi on it which encouraged him to go with the coat and tie. I admire his body structure because he is not on the bigger scale and not on the lighter scale, well before he is so payatot during our college days but not anymore, he is now on the average scale. (syempre love your own.hehehe) We showed to Ate Del his peg, I did not know that mabusisi din pala ang Coat and Tie. So i just let Ate Del and Jaylu discussed the details of it. Our package already includes the pants, the longsleeves, the vest, the suit and the bow tie.

And to address his concern on our male entourage, I was able to find a suit rental for a very cheap price. Only 300 per suit :) So what we are planning to do is to get the measurements of our male entourage and we are the one who will pick up the color and the design of their suit so it will be uniform for all, I will just provide the neck tie which is according to our color motiff, all the boys are going to wear a neck tie, only Jaylu will wear the bow tie so people will distinguished him as the groom. We got the suit rental on a package basis that is why we got big discount. As for our male principal sponsors, we are thinking of letting them wear Barong, we dont want to require them wearing Coat and Tie, it might sound demanding and we also dont want their suit in different shades, so to be uniform, they will just wear Barong, all in white or off white color.

My Wedding Gown

Last weekend after coming from a lunch celebration of one of my pamangkin's Christening, Jaylu and I went to Darhleen's Creation for our wedding attires.

Actually my gown is a gift from my Kuya Joey and Ate Darhleen. We only gave a portion on the payment of the dress and the rest will be shouldered by my generous Kuya and Ate :) Darhleen's Creation is actually a family business of my sister in law. During one family weekend, ate Dayin asked me about my wedding dress and at the time, I dont have any idea yet on my design and who will execute it. And while she is giving bath to my pamangkin, Owen, and me watching and assisting her, she told me that she will take care of it. Wow, I was really surprised and so thankful and grateful on the gesture and told me that, that is going to be their wedding gift for us. And with the help of my another hipag, Digi, she gave me pictures of wedding gowns that would fit my petite body structure. At first I was kinda hesitant to wear a tube wedding dress, my arms are not really that firmed and my triceps is really a work in progress. But then again, I trusted my sisters for I am assured that they know what would look good in me. My first choice is actually a halter-lace A-line gown, but most of the girls in the family find its design very simple, my mama Cel is a little critic about it, politely telling me to search for more designs so I can have lots of options. So after researching and consulting, my wedding dress is going to be a tube-A-line-dress with swarovski crystals.

As for my my measurements, I asked Tyang Amy (I hope I remembered it correctly), to subtract 3 inches from my current waistline. This is going to motivate me to lose weight and inspire me to constantly hit the gym and do my 1 hr cardio atleast 2-3 times a week. As of this writing, I think and I felt that I already lost weight (hehehe, feeling!) even some of my officemates would notice it and I guess my no rice diet during dinner and me being a gym person is slowly paying off :D So for the next 6 months Slimmers World SM North branch is going to be my second next haven (first of course is my parent's house and my bedroom. hehe)

I still cannot picture myself in that gown maybe because the model in the peg is so slim. I actually dont want Jaylu to see the design until the wedding day. But since Ate Del (one of the owners of the shop and Ate Dayin's sister) and I are discussing it in front of Jaylu, he eventually saw the printed copy. I could not remember his answer when I asked his opinion about it but I remembered him saying na "Payat ka naman" *kilig* But now, he is denying that he said that. hahaha, sinasakyan lang daw nya si Kuya Joey. Whatever his excuse is, basta narinig ko yun, and that is all that matters, music to my ears. hihihi

Our next schedule is on April for my first fitting then if all goes well, meaning I did not lose or gained some weight, they will proceed on the beading process which is the harder part. But I am hoping that by that time, I have achieved my target of 3 inches off my waistline. Tiis-ganda mode muna. hehe

Florist: Mhira's Flower Shop (it pays to be early)

Like what I mentioned from my previous post, it really pays to be early :) We attended a wedding fair this morning, and as early as 10am I was already there checking Tippy's booth. But since they are still not ready, I toured around the fair first and checked some florist.

One of the booths that captured my attention is Mhira's Flower Shop. They are already prepared and one lady is all smiles to me. So I sat with them and checked their albums for flowers. They are one of the Dangwa flower shops that joins wedding fairs.

Prior to this day, I already had a quote from my prospect coordinator regarding the wedding flowers. Both for the church arrangements and bouquets. I gave her a budget and ask her if she can work on it together with all my requests which are: tulips for the bridal bouquet, hand tied bouquets for the mothers, entourage and principal sponsors, buttonniers for groom all male enoturage . As for the church, I am not really particular with the type of flowers, I am ok with calla lilies as long as they are presentable and will have that wedding feel with the red carpet, white tulle and swags and flowers on the aisles, I am all good with that. But then she honestly told me that my budget is too low for her to work on all my requests and politely told me to inquire at Dangwa. So that is my next plan to just go to Dangwa and canvass packages for all my requests. But my matron of honor advised me to be very careful on negotiating at Dangwa, scammers are all over the place.

Anyway going back to Mhira's flower shop, as I sat with them Mhira showed me their actual photos on their flower setups and she did lots of sales talk regarding the ABS CBN's new teleserye "Walang Hangan" and told me that they are the one who did the wedding and debut setup. Her basic package would amount to 20k both for church and bouquets plus the add ons like additional PS, FG, BM. I ask them if they can work on my budget which is way lower than that, 15k. And they said yes. But that time Jaylu was not yet around, that is how early I am. hehehe So I excused myself and told them I'll be back with my financial manager. hehe

So when Jaylu came, I dragged him to the flower shop booth. I made lots of requests and clearly told them that my budget is just 15k, and to no avail they said yes to all my requests. I was actually surprised on how big their hand tied bouquets are for the mothers, PS and entourage. The flower girls will also have pomanders which are all so cute matched with their head dresses, Im so excited to see them :) And my bouquet will be all tulips 18 pcs tulips, wow :) While checking the contract I noticed that for the SC, they will only have corsage so I requested again if they can also have ha

nd tied bouquets, and they said yes to me again :)

As for the church, we will get 10 aisle pots, 3 altar flowers, 2 entrance flowers, 2 candle holders, 1 offertory with throw away bouquet and loose petals. And I am just so happy :) She even told me that during months of June, flowers supplies are abundant so she assured me that she will add more flowers to

my package. She told me that all my requests are granted because we are their buena mano. Not to mention, Jaylu work his charms out, they are fond of him on his comic acts and hirit. Buti na lang good mood ang groom. hehehe Before we closed the deal, we said our wishes to them na sana we are lucky to be their buena mano :)

Lesson learn, it really pays to be early and dont lose hope on finding new suppliers and always stick to your budget :) We feel so productive today, booking 2 suppliers in 1 morning, thanks to wedding fairs we are able to get good deals talaga. hehehe

I am going to have 18 of this :)

Orange Tulips

- Orange is a sunshine colour, this colour is mixture from the colour of red and yellow. With the red colour of flower enthusiasm and yellow colour flower joy, tulips in orange colour carry the meaning of warm and hapiness.

An orange colour tulips bouquet could let you share the happiness with someone you care. It also suitable use as a decoration in your house, it could built out a warm and happiness environment.

With the sentiments and the meaning of tulips in orange colour, it is suitable for any occasion. It could not be less for any happiness ceremony, you may just try it!

http://www.flower-advisor.com/orange-tulip.html