Every Day is a new day!-My Checklist 11 months before the wedding

How time flies! It has been 2 weeks since I put the countdown to the wedding and seriously, all I've accomplished from then till now is:
-h2b and I have talked to Dad
-I've got leaflets of the churches
-occulars of the back-up venue and church
-initial occular and meeting with the caterer venue

Well, come to think of it, that's actually a lot..haha, However, it's already May and 11 months nalang to go! My mom, who seems oh-so-proud of the fact that she was able to accomplish her wedding preps in 2 weeks will raise her eyebrows, but in today's time wherein there are a gazillion things to do, I hope we will be able to accomplish many things this month in terms of wedding preps..I do have a list and timeline and for those who might be interested, here are things that I hope to accomplish this May, 11 MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING

1.The Pamamanhikan- I've heard of some couples doing the pamamanhikan at a much later time, wherein it was just a formality and the date, venue and church have been set by the couple and they just inform them of the details. We, however, want to include our parents in the decision making of these 3.

2.Oculars before Reservations
I've familiarized myself with the target churches and venues but it's still different to actually be there for the purpose of doing an inspection, taking notes and asking questions. I have an appointment tomorrow at Village Patio and I'm hoping to do another one in Makati Parks and Garden plus St Michael Archangel.

3.Downpayment and Reservations-Money always makes things more real. haha. I hope that after the Pamamanhikan, we'd be able to finalize things and dent our pocket to make the reservations for the church and the venue. BTW, most churches require a 50% dp while venues require 10,000 and up reservation.

There there..come june, I'll have another set of goals and Hope all goes well in our checklist

P.S. H2B says he'll agree to anything so I dont need to consult him, I just need to bring him along for the food tastings.Should I be glad or pissed that he doesnt like to be involved? hehe
Tah-Tah.. Happy Preps 2011 and 2012 brides!

la boda de amor

credits to ms eyzel of projectdreamwedding.blogspot.com as I edited her title on one of her posts regarding her horrific experience with a Divisoria tailor.Me too has once become a victim of such gownmakers there as a bridesmaid. The gown had strings at the back and when I wore it, half of my back was showing, fit for a cabaret and not for a walk down the aisle. My mom and I tried to fix it and some stuff started to stick out 2 hours before the wedding...such horror...

Hence I told myself I'd never go there for my own wedding...I was so happy when one of my besties, Angel got married in 2009 and though she had  a huge baby bump, the designer was able to do a very good job of hiding it and one would rarely know she's pregnant unless upon close inspection ..Because of that, I told myself I'd get the same couturier when I get married..

Fast forward to 2011, I told my Mom we'd get married next year and she brought out her gown. I honestly didnt know what to do...talk about awkward! She got married 26 years ago and the wedding gown is pretty outdated..I was also apprehensive that there might be stains and what nots...

However upon close inspection, I saw that the gown is very similar to the design that I like and it can be modified...Most of all. I commend my Mom because it was well preserved! No stain, no molds not even the smell of cockroach eggs..hehe..So after lengthy discussion with my sister who will be my MOH, I decided that I will use the same gown with minor modifications...

The gown is originally long sleeved but I will post later as it takes its journey to be a 2012 gown of my dreams.. :D
here it is...

tahtah!

Baka sakaling makalusot- another venue + church combo in Makati Area

In a previous post, I have expressed my excitement and almost sure desire to book Village Patio in Sikatuna as our wedding venue. However, as much as I want to and no matter how enchanting the place is, it still poses concerns to me, the queen of cheapster-blogging brides of 2012.

1) The website says it can only accommodate a max of 250 guests. We target around 250 guests and if more turn up, we dont have a contigency plan
2) The wedding will most probably be between March 29-April 4 hence it will we sweaty sweaty hot for the guests
3) Moolah. The Village Patio is one of the cheapest suppliers you can find for its kind but for 250-300 guests, 4++ a head can still create a hole on one's pockets.

Based on these facts, I was "forced"(kala mo inaapi) to find another church and venue combo and luckily, we were able to come up with one in Makati.

Let me present to you... Makati Parks and Garden and Saint Michael Archangel in Taguig.
for this entry, i will use pictures from the net so that I can use my own shots if we do decide to book this combo

Here's the church

nalunod nako sa tiffany chairs..haha..their setup from the actual venue...

Since I have posted the cons why we might not get Village Patio based on the cons, here are the pros to this combo

1) Both places are airconditioned! for the prices(which i have yet to verify if they are updated), they are steals. The church's rate is below 10k while Makati Parks and Garden Artist Pavillion is rented out at 4 figures for Makati residents and 1+,+++ for Non-Makati residents.

2)Quidos Catering is a usual caterer in makati parks and they are the caterer that we eye for this venue(Village Patio charges a different rate for outside caterers which makes it impractical to get another one) and they include the cake and tiffany chairs for free!

I can add many other blah-blah-blah statements which are true nonetheless but basically, it's just the tiffany chairs and aircon that I'm after.
I've googled for months and know that most aircon venues and churches charge way much more than these two
Some caterers/suppliers ask for 80-100 tops per tiffany chair and I've given up on having them (because than would be around 25-30k for our guests) but I can actually have them for FREE! serious heart attack :)

tah-tah.. can somebody please teach me how to make a signature? want one eh :)
**update after 8 or so hours..ayan, meron nako!

Cheesier, More Sentimental and Cheaper

sweetsimplejoys.com states that diy projects must be economical, not too hard and practical- in short, personalized pero hindi ka naman duguan at the end of the day. haha.. based on this principle, here is a list of diy projects I have in mind

1) save the date cards- fiance is a "techie" guy so why pay for such things when I can bully him into making them? the operative word being "bully'. harhar

seriously, we can just change the text and use this very card!

2) fans-we'll be getting married summer next year and imagine the sweat our guests would accumulate if we do decide on a non-aircon church and venue

thanks google for all these photos...

3) wedding cord- considering my klutzy nature, I'm a bit skeptical to do this myself but rest assured that ours will be personalized

this isnt exactly what i have in mind but its the closes I can find :D

4) embellishments on the ring pillow- well, not limited to but I prefer it to be personalized yet classy. :)

We also plan on doing invites ourselves kaso saka nako magpopost kapag may lay out na. The pictures give you a pretty close view of what the motif would be...

tah-tah.till our next encounter online diary!  

wear this ring as a sign of my love..

I said we'd buy rings a few weeks before the wedding but Meio's been dropping hints that he's having a hard time buying the engagement ring cause he has no idea what I want..So last night, nag-aya ako sa Prestige..
Prestige goes by a different name in person, probably because prestige sounds much better that's why they use it online..

They have numerous designs that we like(based on pictures) and so we were excited to see the rings in person...
They're very affordable too..around 1,300-2,000 for silver pairs(which we prefer) and high quality naman..so off we went to Meycauyan

We went there via NLEX so we came from Meycauyan exit and we saw their shop(accurate naman ang map). I parked a few meters from there and we walked to their shop. When we got there, we saw rows upon rows and boxes upon boxes of coded items. Upon close inspection, we realized that they were just plastic..which we later learned were called casting...

Sobrang naloka ako kasi kaya nga kami dumayo(the operative word being dayo dahil galing pa ako ng qc at si meio ng taguig) para ifit ang rings and to see them in person and all we would see are castings??
Hindi matanggap ng kalooban ko kaya sabi ko kay h2b, magtingin tingin pa kami sa iba..we decided to go farther to the valenzuela side and we were happy to see many shops that showed greater potential....

We were looking for Ancon pero we came across this other shop called Acero and there was another couple who were also buying rings. I came closer and asked how much a pair is..*00 daw...So I fitted, and fitted and fitted and fitted and liked 3 of them..My favorite one had zirconia stones on half of the ring and it made my finger much sexier.kaso hindi masyadong pasado kay h2b. He liked another one with 3 stones cast diagonally and we almost got it but it didnt feel quite right kasi ang pangit sa finger ko.. I know there's a great chance I might loose the ring in the future but at the very least, I'd like to wear a ring that I actually like..

So we settled with the last one and I was feeling goosebumps habang nagbabayad kami..Akala ko kasi magdadown lang kami today and after a week or so pa namin makukuha pero hindi daw, makukuha na daw namin today...Kaloka!  *&Y)**()@#$%! totoo na to, magaasawa nako.. I was having panic attacks and I looked at Meio and he was so calm and cool and nakangiti lang kasi nakailang palit nako ng isip and I relaxed...Mag-aasawa na kami! YEY! So they asked for our sizes, the names and worked on the rings..

We waited for like 15 minutes and they polished a new pair and we fitted them again..Then the lady went to the other branch to have the engravings done..She came back after another 15 minutes and there they are, our wedding rings..Like I said, we might lose them at some point or they might get damaged, tarnished, whatever..but nothing beats that moment when u see them for the first time..felt like I gave birth. haha

Here they are...

BTW, I checked sa sm and these babies are worth double and they dont even use 92.5 except for IBAY's and Silverworks..and no offense but Silverworks are way too common. Sa SM fairview palang 4 na branches nila. not 1, not 2, not 3...4!!!!!!!!!! Ilang daang couples ang makakapareho namin?

*btw, we bought from acero jewelry store... :)

jewelry 101

I have covered the venue, a bit of the church, gowns, and photography. The next thing that comes to mind are the rings, because after all the guests are gone, a few days after the wedding, it is the first reminder that you are not single anymore, and probably the only other reminder(aside from the photos) 10 years or so into the marriage. I did a short blog about silver rings a few months back and here's the follow-up to that

Before H2B and i started getting into the details, I have already been eyeing silver rings. White Gold are a fad anyway and honestly, I dont see the difference between white gold and silver, and I only do so after a very very close and very very long inspection ^^
Second, we have a car but we still commute at times and I just dont like the idea of flashing expensive jewelry on a daily basis
Third, we are mountaineers and I can just imagine the horror on my face if my beloved wedding band falls on mud and or becomes impossible to retrieve at a ravine

So..I have been eyeing silver wedding bands at Filigrenasia. But just recently, they closed their store in SM Fairview, the closest one to us and imagine my horror when I kept looking and looking for it throughout the mall but it was nowhere to be found. Much to my dismay, i looked at the other silver jewelry at the mall but they were too ordinary, too common or too cheap. Pardon my bluntness but though I am frugal and borderline cheapster(haha), I'd want my wedding ring to be at least 1,000 and up.

Today was another lucky day, however. Googling here and there led me to a jewelry maker in meycauyan which opened a whole new world to me regarding jewelry

It doesnt hurt to learn something new and here are a few things, at least in the field of wedding rings that I learned today

1. Silver can actually be plated! i thought silver was only mixed with alloys to make it harder but you can actually plate it with gold hence if it is paired or plated with yellow gold, it would look very similar to two toned white and yellow gold rings
2. 10k jewelry is still much more expensive than silver but at least we can afford them, and we now have a second option.

Okay, those are just two things but this opens up a whole new world of possibilities for us..
Some ring designs that i liked:

I have a thing for rings with stones but not too many ^_^

Sapphire and diamond...

Case in point: Can u guess if this is silver or white gold?

We might make a trip to Meycauyan one of these days.. :D

screeching, screaming, giggling and posing in my head.

I came across a website approximately two weeks ago of a very unique photographer. most professional photogs charge as much as 50,000 for photography packages alone but his rates and his selling point were very very different. He only charges 15,000 for "services" only, meaning no print outs including the prenup na. omg to the maximun levelacious..What's more, he has tie-ups with videographers who offer similar very affordable packages.


The catch? I was so, so stupid(until tonight I was convinced I am a border line imbecile person.haha) that I didnt bookmark his page thinking I'd remember him so easily because he was such a catch, and that I can easily find him because of his rates and FAQs that stuck to my head. For the past 14 or so days, I have been trying to look for the website again and again and again but no matter what keyword I type, google couldnt help me.
I tried:
3 photographers, services only
3 photographers, 15,000
can you copy the work of other photographers
can you copy the work of other photographers, aray!
all= epic FAIL.
but today, i tried to be as lengthy as possible so I typed:


Can you copy the work of other photographers, aray faq and voila! i found it!
faq was the magic acronym missing in my previous searches pala .buwahaha.I really wanted to laugh out loud like a lunatic.haha. that's how ecstatic i was about him...
look at his work on www.rockinphotographer.com and you'll see why ^^