the dream gown

I originally wanted to wear my Mom's gown but honestly, as of the moment, I am half hearted about it...
My mom's gown is way too simple for my liking and I'd really want something with more bling..
Most of all, I want my gown to be ME..something that really embodies who I am. so after a few twists and modification with search terms on google, I found it! The design that is as close as I can get to what I envision my gown to be. Truth be told, it is close to what my mom wore but details here and there make it so much different because...
1)The silhouette is A-line, unlike my mom's dress that has a balloon skirt.
2)The neckline is also sheer, but this one is made of organza and not lace(my mom's gown's was lace)
3)There is a belt...which I would modify to include more bling :)

See the difference :D

moi wearing mom's gown

Parang gusto ko na tuloi magpagawa ng gown bukas :) yey!

till the next update future brides and grooms...

this is it pancit! quidos grill na!

I've had one prior food tasting with meiokoi and another without him and both didn't feel so right..it's like there's something more out there.. So despite the fact that our other option looked more expensive at first, we called them up and it was one of the best things we did wedding wise!

We arrived a little earlier so I guess Ms gina was not yet ready to receive us.. She discussed the setup, etcetera, etcetera...after a while, she showed us to the back door and that's were our happily ever after began! haha

The food was awesooooome! pardon the shot for it was taken by a cam phone but nonetheless, it'll give u a good idea of what we had

clockwise from top: chopseuy, carbonara, roast beef, fish fillet with tartar sauce and chicken teriyaki

The food looked a little different in person- the carbonara was much saucier and the teriyaki was darker..We loved them all!

carbonara- was creamy and had tuna which i loved

roast beef- I'm not a beef fan but it was yummy!

fish fillet- nothing out of the ordinary but the fish was tasty, soft and the sauce was good

teriyaki- h2b was at a loss for words..many times he tried to describe it but couldnt and just ate and ate!

anyways, we also had leche flan and salad..though they also have fondue, we didnt have that anymore...

This was the "this is it" feeling we were waiting for and we're quite happy..After 3 foodtastings, we now have a caterer and we'll make the dp one of these days..

caterer, checked!

ta-ta engaged people:)

June CheckList

It's approximately 10 months to go before the wedding and I'm starting to panic, mostly because of money matters.Anyway, I will calm down and here's what we have so far

Church- Santa Clara De Montefalco Pasig

Venue-Tanghalang Pasigueno

Yey for us! However, Sta Clara doesnt allow us to pay the downpayment until we've given ALL THE requirements, so we're keen on getting them as soon as possible :)
For Tanghalang Pasigueno, we've paid the dp and we're considered blocked, so we'll just coordinate with them in the future :)


My timeline got screwed up when I found out that rockinphotographer/videographer was already booked for our wedding. Truth be told, in my original plan, I was only going to contact them August, and imagine my horror when they said they were already booked. Hence, I panicked and starting pulling back my timeline a few months earlier..With that it mind, here's our "current"(current as the operative word as it might change again)


July
Down Payment to Caterer
Down to Photo/Video
Buy supplies in Divi for bridesmaids gowns and DIY projects


August
Scouting for MOH and FSIL clothes(maid of honor and future sis in law gowns)
-Set Money aside for gown measurement/down,
-2nd installment to caterer


September
-measurements/down,set money aside for photo/video and caterer
-hmua scouting in time for the pre-nup, buy thingies for prenup


October
-prenup!(YEY!)
-more installment payments :)


November-April
Saka na to kasi marami pang mababago but we'll definitely give our STD cards by December :)


Wow, Blogging that was therapeutic ^_^.. I've been panicky for a couple of days pero hindi naman pala kami super behind schedule and I can still manage our finances..hehe..kalma gurl :)(ayan psycho na ako, talking to myself)


Tuh-Tuh future brides!

Ma Del's food tasting round 1

I've(Sorry I keep using I but h2b usually just follows suit..I'm the one who does all the research.hehe) always eyed Madel's cuisine but I've only called them recently because of two reasons:


I really wanted the Village Patio and Patio Ibarra..two venues with in house caterers. Unfortunately, as reasonable as their prices are, we have 200 guests and budget wise, they didnt make the cut.
2nd, another caterer we wanted looked reasonable at first glance so we were kinda set on them. Lo and behold, however, I realized they would be more expensive than Madels due to the extra charges..relatedly,
3rd reason is that unnamed caterer offers tiffany chairs for ''free" and it was hard to let it go....


But fate led us to Madel's cuisine and upon calling Ms Anj, she told me to come to the take home food tasting in Malayan Plaza in ortigas...Take Home meaning she would take time to talk to us but the food would be in take home containers...


Here are the food we sampled:
Roast Beef
Grilled Blue Marlin with Mushroom sauce
Hawaiian Pork
Chicken Flambe
Baked Macaroni


First and foremost, I thank Ms Anj for accommodating my Mom and I in the actual event. Mega busy pero she took time talaga to talk to me and the other future couples who went there..
Second, all my questions were answered and she even gave me tips to save money and stuff


But, this is after all a food tasting so we have to judge the food. In fairness, all the main dishes were cooked perfectly- walang malabsa, walang overcooked, walang matigas..just the exact texture and tenderness you'd expect for that dish..
As for the individual dishes' verdict, here they are:


Chicken Flambe- Oh, I loved it! it tasted like roasted chicken but much nicer because of special touches here and there...
Grilled Blue Marlin- I liked it because like the flambe it was a combination of something new and something old and it tasted like it was marinated well
Hawaiian Pork-It's their own take of sweet and sour pork but I liked that the veggies were crispy yet cooked
Baked Mac-My mom makes delicious baked mac so I am not the best person to judge this
Roast Beef-again, I hate beef so I am not the best person to judge this...

clockwise from top left: roast beef, hawaiian pork,blue marlin steak,baked mac, chicken flambe 

Miss Anj said we can have a 2nd food tasting and for that, I hope hubby and I can try
tenderloin pork which will replace both the beef and the prok dish
a seafood dish preferably hawaiian fish fillet
and fettuccine italiana plus our chosen desserts like buko pandan jello and 1 more..After all, first or not confirmed supplier or not, food tastings are love :)
till next time future brides and grooms!

Step 1 of bridal gown "make-over" : completed!

A few blogs ago http://arnoldapril2012.blogspot.com/2011/04/la-boda-de-amor.html), I mentioned that I intedn on wearing my Mom's wedding gown on my own special day. Lucky me, the design is very close to what I envisioned my own gown to be...

However, amends need to be done here and there such as
1) The gown is long sleeved. As much as it sounds good to done it ala Kate Middletone, it's gonna be freaking hot on our big day given that it's mid summer and the last thing I wanna happen is to faint from the heat. Not to mention the fact that I'm not a big fan of long sleeved clothing, let alone my gown.hehe

2) uhmmm.....as much as I hate to admit, I'm beefier than my mom...I can zip it up to about two inches from my waist but that's as far as I can go.. and for it to fit me fully and comfortably, I'd have to shed 10-20 pounds tops(shucks, thanks for the pressure mom!)

3) There isnt enough bling for my taste. My mom, a very minimalist by nature, simply put details here and there but I'd love for the gown to have bead word here and there and I'll definitely bring it to a modista one of these days...

And so, after much thought, I decided to cut out the sleeves. Don't get me wrong and visualize me with a pair of really sharp scissors and just cutting pointlessly- It was a very tedious job that required utmost patience and carefulness. The sleeves were lace and I had to be very careful not to ruin the fabric...which my mother was able to preserve for twenty six years..

After painstaking effort, I was able to cut through the arm holes but 1/2 an inch of sleeves still held on to each arm, I stopped there because I was scared I'd ruin it..I just wanted to be able to fit the gown without the sleeves..

So as promised(to those who care to read this), here's the first part of my Mom's gown's journey to becoming the "IT" gown for me

The gown in its original look

Moi wearing it after I've cut out the sleeves

Happy :) best of luck future brides..and grooms if there are some!

where to? where to? where to?

I thought 1 year and a half into blogging, googling here and there was considered the workings of an OC OC kinda overly eager bride. I thought it was enough, I thought my research was extensive compared to others and I thought I've read one too many blogs, forums and boards to last me a lifetime.. Boy, I was wrong..so far, here's our journey to finding that perfect church and venue combo..

-We attended a food tasting at a venue here in Fairview, but it was too expensive for us so we didnt bother calling them up again.

-I searched and searched and searched and came upon Village Patio.Sad to say however, that though we were expecting discounts and kinda a better first meeting and occular, it didnt go as well as planned so we had to keep it in a shelf as an alternate option only

-I stumbled upon quidos catering and looked for some of the venues that they usually catered to.

1.Pinaglabanan Church- It is accessible from both Ortigas and Aurora, but the church was kinda hot for my taste so h2b and I scheduled another occular in...

2.Sta Clara De Montefalc0 and Tanghalang Pasigueno- the biggest disappointment so far. both places were extremely beautiful and our guests would go gaga for sure..aside from the fact that they'd go gaga looking for them too. Though we were able to find both, it took us a few lucky turns, instinct and stops to ask for direction....such a downer.hayst..

3. Makati Parks and Garden- I originally wanted this but after seeing the hall in Sta Clara and Patio Ibarra, my heart wasnt in it anymore.besides, the terrible experience with the rude soldier in St Michael Archangel in taguig made me cross out this option entirely....

The Sta Clara trip happened only today and I was so blue that I suddenly decided to drop by Patio Ibarra in Quezon Avenue..At first glance, the rate was more expensive..but looking closely, it was actually at par with Quidos- after adding up additional charges..So this leads us to another scouting for a church near it.

A few visits here and there and I'm already weary of the process..

As of now, we have two options

1. Pinaglabanan + their hall + quidos or madel's catering

2. Patio Ibarra plus a few churches that we'll visit on friday.

tah-tah future brides..best of luck to us!

Goodbye Bridezilla and Hello Practical me!

Many changes have happened regarding our plans and hence many many updates regarding our planning!

1. We decided to limit our guest list to 150, 170 tops. Price per pax that is within our budget, which ranges from 400-500 and with my initial list of 250 and more it can seriously make a dent in our pocket. After much consideration, we thought that it would be best to just invite a few people to the reception and invite the rest to a post wedding celeb in our house.

2. I have always set my heart on Village Patio but options have cropped up and now, we might go for Quidos catering + a venue where they have been to before, so that they can help us regarding the choosing process..

Even prior to the pamamanhikan dami nang pagbabago so I pondered on the wedding preps..I thought I'd be an OC bride..and I believe that I still am and yet..I asked myself a few questions and here are now some guidelines I follow/ask myself each time I/We deal with wedding details.

1.Go for freebies. I've been browsing and looking around for cake designs and prices but many caterers, including our target Quidos catering include cake in their package. It's not top of the line and only the bottom layer is edible, but still, it's free. The cake itself might only be worth 3k tops, but premier cake designers ask for 8k-15k depending on the design. I know its well worth it, but I'd still prefer to save 10,000 pesos or more than to have an extravagant cake...

Which brings me to my next point...

2. Does it really mean a lot to you?
I was chitchatting with an acquaintance today and out of all the expenses for their wedding, she is more willing to shell out money for their wedding rings than anything else. I would love to have a 21k gold wedding ring embellished with diamonds...but comes a budget tricky situation, I would forego it so that we can afford a nice photo and video package..which for me, is more important than the bands we will wear. My main point then is, go for something expensive/pricey if it means a lot to you and forego nice to haves that are impractical or can be replaced by better alternatives.

Third...

3. Set your priorities straight and check how many splurges and nice to have items you have. You might say that the rings are really important to us. And the p/v supplier. and the caterer. and the gown. and the photobooth...and the list goes on. At a first glance, everything might seem necessary but think very very hard about it. For example, I was initially keen on getting the HMUA of a highschool batchmate because he worked well. But then, his services cost 5 figures for me alone and it didnt seem worth it next to the fact that we only spend 4 figures on our rings.

Last, be realistic.

4. I remember a friend telling me that they just set their budget to 200k. But then they chose an expensive venue in pasig. Got diamong white gold rings. invited 200 people. got wedding coordinators, and so on. I believe that the process should be the other way around- list all possible expenses first, canvass for prices, then make amends here and there to make it fit the budget and not the other way around- setting a budget first only to realize its impossible is kinda wrong. For example, for us, our current budget is around 250k, which at the moment does not accommodate budget for OTD so I'm not yet sure about that...but if our pockets permit,,we might just get one...

Hope this helps future brides and grooms..Happy preps!