Photo and Video - Booked

After an emotional week for me and Jaylu (one of our classmates and close friend of Jaylu died), we continued with our wedding preps on what's next on our list which is the Photographer and Video Supplier (P/V). And last Friday, we went to East Digital Studios office to inquire and make DP to reserve our date. They accept 3 events per day and since our wedding is a weekend, 2 slots are already taken. Good thing that the last slot was reserved to us. Thank God for the last spot.

East Digital has been a trusted supplier of weddings in our famlies. My brother got their service for their wedding last January 2010 and that was when we knew about how good East Digital is with very reasonable wedding package. Then my cousin got them too. And so after weeks of researching for a good competitor for East Digital as our P/V, we finally decided to book East Digital. We had a few picks for video supplier, but we werent able to successfully negotiate with them. Either they are no longer available on our date, or their location is too far (General Santos City) and nothing beat the reasonable wedding package that East Digital has.

We got their basic package and able to get some add ons, since we were referred by old clients. We got free upgrade of our SDE from Standard to HD; they gave us free tarp which can be used on our registration table and if we decide to upgrade our wedding album from 10 x 10 (which is included on our package) to 11 x 14, we can upgrade it to a discounted price; One more haggle is the terms of payment, they agreed to receive the 10% payment upon claiming of our album instead of 25% before the wedding or on the day. Yey!

Speaking of photos, my best bud and her husband volunteered to do a pre nup session and one of my college barkada also wants to do a shoot with us. Nice! And so this is how it feels to be a star. hahaha. So that means that we will be having 3 sets of engagement session. One from East Digital then one from Maf and Marv and one from Arnel :D I feel so blessed with good friends and we feel so artista! hehehe.

http://www.eastdigitalstudio.org/v3/homepage.html

Wedding Motif and or Theme

Now that reception venue booking is done, we will be meeting accredited caterers next week. I was on search on our motif and or theme for our wedding so I can discuss it to the caterer. I dont have any plans of getting a stylist and I will just be relying on my caterer on the setup of the venue.

First on my mind is combining our birth stones. I am a turquoise (December) and Jaylu (November) is a topaz. The color combination resulted to Blue, Yellow and Orange. At first it came to me as an odd combination. So I searched on aqua and orange-yellow inspiration and taadaa..... love the colors :)

So this is going to be our inspiration board:

I love the table cards, I hope I'll have enough time to do this. Thinking of digging my creative talents for this DIY project

Isnt this nice for a VIP table :)

I just love the summery colors even if our date is June, who says we cant extend summer?? hehe

Flowers and citrus fruits plus the aqua colored candle holders.

More orange and aqua

As per the perfectpalette.com, the aqua and orange colors is like an island beach wedding. It symbolizes the shade of sunset and colors of the water. Just so perfect for us since beach placed an important part of this wedding, he proposed in a beach while we are having vacation at Bantayan Island Cebu :)

http://www.theperfectpalette.com/2010/07/orange-aqua-island-wedding.html

Church and Venue Booked

Last week we finally booked our church and reception venue.

Church: Our Lady of the Abandoned Church

Prior to booking OLA, Papa Jose (Jaylu's father) accompanied us to a lot of churches near Antipolo. We checked churches at Rizal. And we both loved the Christ the King "church in the sky" at Rizal. But the place is too far from my side, I am living at Fairview so Rizal seems to be too far from my family.

And so we decided to take our vows at Our Lady of the Abandoned Church in Marikina. We initially wanted the 4pm slot but unfortunately the time is no longer available. So the next option is the 230pm slot. So we blocked the time and date for 230 pm wedding. The wedding fee includes everything except for the flowers.

At first I really felt bad about it since our church is not airconditioned and I am having apprehensions regarding the humid afternoon which will make not only us (I will be wearing a long gown with the veil and him wearing a suit ) but our guests uncomfortable. But then on the second thought having the ceremony being finished at 3:30ish to 4 pm means that we will have more photo ops :) so I guess 230pm isnt bad at all.

The church is currently being renovated for the left side expansion and after that they will fix the other side. We asked the parish office if they have other renovation plans for next year and according to them none so far. So we are hoping that all constructions will be done by our wedding day.

The other church reqs will be done next year since most of the licenses and documents expire 6 months prior to wedding date, so it will be safe to do it by Feb or March next year.

Reception Venue: Velada Estate

We only managed to do ocular inspections on Kapitan Moy (just across the street of OLA), Mango Farm, L Orchard, Sweet Harmony Gardens an

d Velada Estate. Since we wanted the reception to be away from Manila but not as far as Tagaytay, we decided to do it on Antipolo.

So I did a lot of research on different reception venue in Antip

olo. The first time I saw Velada on their website I

actually fell in love with it specially the lights at night. The place is so photogenic.

http://www.veladaestate.com/

They fully operated last June 2010 so the place is still new. Initially I wanted a garden venue but since we will be getting married in June

I dont want to risk the outdoor venue for a possible rain so I want something like The Oasis Manila, it has a garden and a Pavilion

which is safe for a bad weather. This is where my Kuya Jason got married and I dont want to repeat another wedding in the family on the same place.

And so when we had an ocular visit at Velada, i fell more in love with it. There is an ongoing wedding at that time so we were able to see the setup and how is the place during a wedding. The AE, Marie toured us around. They have a garden which can accommodate up to 200 guests and this is where Christian Wedding ceremony takes place. And so my mind starts to imagine setups of cocktail tables and guests roaming around the garden enjoying the place.

They already have separate groom's and bride's room which is plus points for them. We can have our preps there instead of getting a hotel room which will add to our expenses.

They have wedding package which includes catering food good for 200 pax with bridal car, cakes, emcee, doves and wine for toast ceremony. Less hassle for us to think about those things.

Then went to El Patio, which is the Pavilion. I am impressed with it especially the drapings and tulle at the ceiling and it is big enough for 200 guests. The cooling system is Iwata which I think is good enough ventilation. Antipolo is already a high place so i dont see humid weather becoming a problem for us. Though Jaylu has one concern. The pavilion seems to be divided at the middle. The other side is somewhat elevated by I think just a step higher than the other side. It is rectangular by design so probably the people at the back may not be able to see what is happening at the front and Jaylu is concern that those people seated at the back may feel a little out of place. Well we just need to make sure that another projector will be setup at the back so that if there will be presentations like AVP or SDE, they can see it and wont feel that "out of place" thing. We should also talk to our emcee to include the people seated at the back to be part of our program. One thing is good though, the people at the back are the ones near to the buffet table so anytime they can come back and grab something to eat. hehe

They have parking at the back and the front, big enoug

h to accommodate transportation of our guests.

So far I am as excited as I am happy that finally, 2 of major suppliers are already booked. And we booked the church and venue that we love.

(left: Jaylu @ Kapitan Moy; middle: Me @ Kapitan Moy; right: Jaylu @ The Mango Farm)

Next on the list is the PhotoVideo that will cover the biggest event in our lives.

(Us @ The Mango Farm)

Church Hunting Journey Part 1

First things first, church. Since we want to have our wedding on somewhere East, we started our church hunting journey at Antipolo and Marikina.

Disclaimer: subjective opinions, they are based from our preference.

1. St. Therese

-along Marcos Highway, in front of SM Masinag.

- 15k for the flowers, carpet, priest, pianist, soloist

pros:

-the altar is stunningly beautifulit

- isnt hard to locate, SM Masinag is a sure landmark

- even if it's non-aircon the place seems refreshing since there are lots of trees at the back

- wide parking lot

- Ate, the one who assisted us seems to be very friendly

- Not too strict with the dress code as long as there's a strap that will support the gown and no low necklines

- good for intimate weddings :)

cons:

- not too long aisle for the bridal march - not really my preference.

- there's an ongoing construction in front of the church by the SM Management- Jaylu is thinking that maybe next year the construction is already done.

2. San Antonio de Padua

J.P. Rizal street Calumpang Marikina

wasnt able to get the price, we arrived at the church at the evening, office already closed

pros:

- beside the marikina river, good for photo ops

- since it is located uphill, i personally like the stairs that you need to take before reaching the church

- small church good for intimate weddings

- no bystanders expected since the location is somewhat hidden

cons:

- too small for us, same with St Therese, no long aisle for the bridal march

- since this is a hidden church, location is not too accessible, guests being lost on the way to church can be expected

3. Our Lady of the Abandoned (OLA)

- Calumpang, Marikina

- wasnt able to get the price, we arrived at the church at the evening, office already closed

pros:

- love the facade with the "banderitas" hanging from the church to its gate

- love the long aisle, perfect for the bridal march

- i like the chandeliers, it gives the church an extra brighter mood

- huge parking too

- we were not able to take a look at the altar closely but from our view, so far so good

cons:

- i am expecting some bystanders around since it is somewhat exposed to the Marikina people

- truth is, the name of the church is bugging me, "Abandoned". hehe but not really a biggie, I can use the Spanish name of it, "Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados"

We are planning to have occular on 3 more churches around Marikina and Antipolo/Taytay area, but so far OLA takes the lead.

I commend Jaylu for being so patient and being so actively hyper during this day. To think that he woke up earlier than me, went to MOA early in the morning and need to meet me up after lunch time. His energy is unbelievable, there are times I would shut him up because he is so madaldal and hyper while I am being attacked with my migraine maybe because i feel so tired of walking walking walking. hehe I am hoping he will remain this energetic attitude all through out our planning process :)

We got home past 8pm and celebrated my Kuya Jason's birthday and stayed up until 3am. I was happy to see my 2 kuya, Kuya Joey, Kuya Jason and Jaylu beer bond with each other. Talking about life at work and giving us advises regarding wedding preps :)

credits to Google for the pics

Where to start...

Find a good read from this site:

http://stylishweddingideas.com/articles/10-things-to-do-after-the-wedding-proposal

Its been almost a week since the engagement happened and I am at lost on where to start. I kept on revising the spreadsheet file I came up with which includes everything that needs to be done and I am so OVERWHELMED!

I am running through the list from the site and it seems I only got four out of ten checked. Jaylu wants it on June next year but I am still thinking if we can make it on June since it is September already, it will just be 9 months to go and we only got my spreadsheet to start with. hahaha.

10 THINGS TO DO AFTER THE WEDDING PROPOSAL

1. Share the good news with family and friends - ♥ only family and super closest friends

2. Plan an engagement party - ♥ shared dinner/lunch with our parents to finally formalize everything

3. Choose the wedding date - ♥ June 2012

4. Determine a budget - ♥ hoping we can stick with it

5. Put together the guest list - not yet done

6. Choose the place where the ceremony is going to be held - Church not yet booked/ decided but we want it on Antipolo City

7. Choose the venue for the reception - not yet done

8. Book an engagement shoot - n/a we dont need this one

9. Decide if you’re going to hire a wedding planner - n/a I think with the help of my friends and sis's we can do it :)

10. Choose the wedding dress - not yet done

Ask the parents - Done :)

2 days after our engagement and our trip from Cebu we immediately headed to Jaylu's parents to finally ask their permission about our plans. During dinner, Jaylu showed my hands with the ring to them as his introduction of our engagement and I think they are happy with it.

And today, Jaylu formalize everything with my parents. Prior to this, I already told my parents about it. They seem excited I guess because finally we are tying the knot.

Everything seems falling into places, I believe God will help us pull this through :)

...with the heavens crying tears of joy with me :)

And so it happened... unexpectedly :)

I can still vividly remember that Sept 17 2011 night 1130 pm at Beach Placid Resort at Bantayan Island Cebu. We were with our friends spending an out of town vacation. When we're about to call it a night he asked me to go out and walk at the shore. I am hesitant at first because I can feel some rain drops already. But he insisted to go for a walk.

And while we were walking at the beach, he started telling me the reasons why he loves me. This is the question I would always ask him whenever I make lambing to him, and to my despise I never get a serious answer not until that night:

(Note: Excerpt from my memory, expect some mushyness)

"I love you because when I was still a "no one", you're already with me. When I was starting to build my dreams andyan ka na sa tabi ko. When I was starting to fulfill these dreams, you are there. But came my downfall, alam mo naman yun kung ano, still you were there for

me. You supported and believed in me and now that I am starting to rebuild myself again, andyan ka pa din. I think now I am already a "someone" and still andito ka pa din. And for the next chapter of my life, I still want you to be there "

He asked what I think is that next chapter of his life will be. Clueless me, I cant think of any other plans that he has at that time, I was thinking of him going abroad or anywhere, so that is what I answered him.

"Hindi", he replied. Then he took out from his

pocket this life changing box and brought out the ring. He placed it on my fingers and that was when I realize he is proposing. Talking about slowness here. hehehe. I never had the chance to say "Yes" because I was so overwhelmed by the moment I just embraced him and cried, I really cried. And with the heavens crying tears of joy with me, rain began to pour :)

When I finally got back to my senses, we walked towards the light so that I can see my ring. I took off the ring from my fingers and since I was like crying moments ago, he popped the question again tutal hindi naman daw ako sumagot kasi iyak ako ng iyak. hehehe. So formally he asked me on his knees holding the ring, "Will you marry me?", I replied, "Yes of course!" *sealed with a kiss*

He is the sweetest ever *blushing*

@Bantayan Island Sept 18 am

"Nothing without you 2904"