It's All About Weddings

Pedi ♥ Michelle Wedding

2009-06-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

May 2 of 2009, my hubby's former agent, Mich and her fiancee decided to tie the knot. I've been hearing from hubby that Mich was already preparing for her wedding this May and is asking questions on how we prepared our own wedding. Of course, we recommended our wedding organizer, Close 2 You since they did a great job preparing our wedding.

We were not able to witness as Mich walked down the aisle to the altar because we arrived late at the church. Still, we were able to witness how both of them pledge their vows in front of everyone. The bride was smiling and looked really happy and so as the groom. Everything was so organized coming from the order of the wedding up to the decorations and the bridesmaids. I so love their outfit. Really nice!

It was also raining hard that afternoon during the wedding ceremony and even after it ended. God was blessing the newly wed couples. To Pedie and Mich, a toast! May your love for each other helped you through all the walks of married life!

Raden ♥ Shiela Wedding

2009-06-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

January 2 of 2009, my Superfriend Raden and his partner Shiela decided to pledge their vows in front of the altar at the Sacred Heart Chuch in Iligan City. They were already a couple ever since we were in our college days and even already had a son of their own. I'm so happy to know that finally they are ready to tie the knot and it's so nice to see their son walk the aisle as their ring bearer.

Raden was so kind to pay for the room where we will be staying. With me were Boo, Superfriend Elva, Dee and Robs. The five of us went to Iligan at around 10am and went back to CDO early the next day.

I'd say the wedding was perfectly planned. The Bride was so pretty and she looked so happy and contented. The Groom on the other hand was excited and couldn't wait to call her as his wife while Shiela was walking her way to the altar. The flower girls were so cute wearing a red gown with a white belt on the waist line and butterfly wings on their back. They all looked like cute little angels.

It was raining hard that day and they say that when it rains on your wedding day, consider it a blessing. It just means that God is pouring a lot of blessings to the newly wed couple. The choir was so nice as well, it's like they were singing in a choir concert.

The reception was held on a small restaurant where the main guests, the entourage together with the Bride and Groom were seated inside while the rest of their friends were seated outside.They just placed speakers outside so that the guests could hear what's going on inside.

Overall, the wedding was a success! Kudos to Raden & Shiela and Best Wishes to you both!

Here are the Wedding Pictures:

For more pictures, you can visit my Photo Gallery, just click HERE.

The BIG DAY: My Preparation

2009-06-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

My Preparation.
(hours before the wedding)

While everyone was busy having their make-up done by the make-up artist, I sat on the bed waiting for my make-up artist to arrive. I was anxious knowing that the most important person of the day is still sitting there alone without the make-up artist.

He arrived late. It was already 4:30 in the morning and our agreement was for him to come at 3:30. And it took as an hour or more just to finish my hair and make-up. The videographer and the photographer were already there and I was still not done with my make up and so they went to cover the groom first.

When it was finally my turn, we had to double time since the wedding will start at 8am.

Here are some of the pictures taken before the wedding:

The Day Before the Wedding

2009-06-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

Tne day before the wedding was a busy day for us. I had make-up rehearsals in the morning and church rehearsals in the afternoon. Around the early parts in the evening, Jeff and I went to church to have our confession heard by a priest. We had to wait for the mass to end for the priest to accommodate us and he was very kind to do so even if confession hours were already over.

We went to Suytiak after we had our confession, unfortunately, we missed it. The store's already closed and it was raining so we had no choice but to go back to the hotel and take a good rest before the big day.

We were supposed to get a massage and had our nails done at Sentara, but we were already so tired to even go down the hotel and get a massage. I also had a lot of things to prepare and I still have to do my nails while there is time. Thankfully, my superfriend Elva volunteered to get my nails done for me and I slept through it. I was really tired that I also lost the appetite to eat.

When it was time to sleep, the Bears, together with my siblings went to the other room and Elva was left to sleep with me. I felt that she was excited too because every time I move, she would ask, "gurl, what's the time?". I on the other hand could not explain how I felt at that very moment. It was like an electric current all over my body and I can't stop thinking that a few hours from now, I'll be Mrs. Boo. I was restless and I get to wake up every 30minutes and struggle myself back to sleep.

When it was time to wake up, I called the other room to wake them up so that they could start with the make-up. And all I did in my room was to prepare my stuff. I still have that tingly feeling though and I promised myself that today, I'll cherish every minute, every moment because this day only comes once in my life...

A few hours from now. I am married.

The Bridal Shower & Stag Party

2009-06-22T04:11:00.000-07:00

Bridal showers are celebrated as a tribute to the bride to be’s last days of being single. It is often hosted by her families and best of friends. You can also hire a party coordinator for this if you want the party to be perfect, memorable and stress-free. But if you do not have the budget to hold an extravagant bridal shower, a simple one will do.

As for me, it was my one of my closest friends, Mommy Amor, who planned the bridal shower. She meet up with my agents and texted my closest and best friends in college and high school. I didn’t know what to do or even what to prepare, all she told me was just to be at my best and just look good on that day. But you know, not knowing what will happen or not even having a clue on what will happen is kind of frustrating on my part.

The stag party of the other hand was also Mommy Amor’s idea. She contacted Jeff’s agents, Edmar and Mike to plan the Stag party. And we both had the bridal shower and the stag party on our 2nd anniversary, August 1, 2008, 7 days before our wedding. We did not really want to hold the party on our 2nd anniversary but what Mommy Amor was thinking was that this will be the only day time that we will be celebrating our anniversary with our friends and we still have a lifetime to spend our anniversaries.

With nothing to do and prepare for the shower party, I made some chocolate souvenirs, printed an A4 size picture of myself and also printed an A4 size sheet with a picture of a bride on it for my signature frame. It was so easy to do since we have Internet access and a colored ink printer at the house.

For my chocolate souvenirs, I wrapped three pieces of Tivoli chocolate using a yellow organza cloth tied with a pink ribbon then placed a Thank You card on top of it. The Thank You card consists of a picture of a lingerie with the date and venue as details. Also, I printed a pink flower with a Thank You print on it and stick it on a chocolate bar wrapped in yellow plastic. The A4 sheet I printed with my picture on the other hand was placed on a frame with the following texts, “Lhea’s Bridal Shower, August 1, 2008, Bustillo’s residence”. The other A4 sheet that was intended for my signature frame was a bride’s picture printed on it. The party was supposed to start at 4am and I was already anxious for the party to start to know what they had prepared for me. When they finally arrived, they were all dressed in pink shirts while I wore a blue polka dot dress with a fairy wings on my back. They brought food and drinks with them and my dad helped in setting up the table.

The program started with a shower of confetti over my head and proceeded with a question and answer portion with questions on how Jeff and I met the marriage proposal and the like. Everything was centered on me and our love story. They had a lot of questions which I answered shyly. It was very awkward to answer all their personal questions but I enjoyed seeing them interested with what I have to say. We also had games and giving of bridal shower gifts where they explained what the gift was for and what it means. Mommy Amor gave me a black seductive night gown while Mommy Jelo gave me a pink cover up. The Bears gave me a body scrub kit with a bath tub mix for our honeymoon. My Superfriends came in late and I was surprise with what they brought. It was a round cake from Goldilocks with a d**k figure on top of it. It was smiling. Hahaha.. That was very naughty of them and that was all Mommy Amor’s idea. Lovjoy gave me a black t-back, Elva gave a pink night gown and Louella gave me a set of scented candles. We spend the night singing at the videoke while Jeff and his gang went to Loretos for his Stag party. I really didn’t know what happened but Jeff told me that they were just drinking and singing though his friends brought a girl with them.

We ended the day celebrating the last few hours of our anniversary together at my place. It was one night that we both will remember. Our 2nd anniversary was extra memorable and special this time.

Thank you Mommy Amor, my Superfriends and the Bears for everything… :) mwah!

The Pre-nup

2009-05-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

One of the important highlights in every wedding is the pre-nup. Pre-nups could be just a slideshow of your pictures, a music video or a question and answer portion where the couple are asked a few questions such as how they met, how their love started and ends with their message for each other.

Jeff and I were so thrilled when we saw the final shots and enjoyed watching the mini-movie that was played at the reception.

Pre-nups can be arranged by your wedding organizer or by your wedding photographer. Mostly these days, pre-nups are already part of the wedding package and it usually costs more than just having a series of slideshow during the wedding. The video for our AVP was taken the same day we had the pre-nup. If you also wanted to have an AVP on your wedding reception, better inquire first from your weddding ogranizer or from your wedding photographer.

The wedding photographer must know your preferences and the angles or events that you want them to capture. If you just let them do their job, you might end up getting disappointed on the results of the wedding pictures. So it is very important to calibrate and communicate with them.

Here are some of the candid shots:

For more pictures on our pre-nup, click HERE.

Cakes and Chocolate Fountain

2009-05-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

One of the things that make weddings sweeter is the wedding cake and the chocolate fountain. Wedding cakes vary from styles and designs. Before, the most common style of wedding cakes are the ones that have 3 layers with a miniature of the bride and groom placed on the top layer. Cakes may be just plain chiffon, pure moist chocolate or depends on the couple's preference.

A new addition to weddings nowadays is the chocolate fountain. It's an overflowing chocolate that looks like a water fountain. I guess that's why it's called a chocolate fountain. Chocolate fountains usually ranged from PHP1000-2000 depending on how many kilos of chocolate you prefer.

For our wedding, the chocolate fountain was already packaged with the wedding cake. Our wedding cake was a mixed of chiffon, moist chocolate, and melon. The center cake was 2 layes with a little water fountain at the bottom of the 2-layered cake and then there were 7 islets of cakes surrounding it. There's also a miniature of a wedding couple on the top most layer. And the islets were decorated with fresh flowers on top. (See picture on the left)

And they don't just look delicious on the picture, they really are delicious! yummy!!!

Well, that's all for now. Ciao!

The Bestman, Groomsmen, and our Bearers

2009-05-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Like any other weddings, our best man and groomsmen wore Barong tagalogs instead of coat and tie like the one we see in movies and in other countries. But out of the ordinary, we had 10 groomsmen and 2 bestmen and because of this we were having problems on where to rent the barongs for them at a cheaper price. We also could not afford paying the rent for all the barongs but our whole entourage were so kind to pay for the rent of the barong just like my bridesmaids who paid for their gown. Good thing, Close 2 You only asked for PHP200 for the barong's rent instead of PHP300. Well, that's good enough rather than paying a lot for each barong.

Also for our ring, coin and bible bearers, we decided that they will also be wearing barong tagalog so they'd look more elegant cute little guys.

If you happen to have a big entourage, might as well survey all the gown shops in your area and ask how much it would cost before deciding on where to rent. Go for the cheapest but not to forget to check on the quality.

Here are some pictures of our entourage:

The Entourage

2009-05-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

The entourage is one the important parts of the wedding program. It would never be called a wedding without it. As for Jeff and I, we wanted our entourage to be unique, out of the ordinary. As I’ve told you from my recent posts, we had 14 bridesmaids and 11 grooms’ men. We wanted the bridesmaid’s attires to be elegant and out of the ordinary. I am proud to say that the bridesmaid’s attire was my own design. Though I have 2 designs for my references, the output was all my idea, including the Maid of Honor and the flower girls.

It was hard to get a modist that would agree to make 14 bridesmaid gowns with good quality and for an affordable price. Luckily, Louella’s (my superfriend) mother was a modist herself and agreed to do the gowns for me at a discounted price. We also had belts made for the flower girls to match the gown style of the bridesmaids and maid of honor. The color and belt of their gowns were the reverse of the bridesmaid’s gowns. And I’m very proud of the outcome. Check the pictures to see for yourself.

Gown Fitting (the gowns almost done):

The Maid of Honor and the flower girls:

at the wedding:

The Groom’s Suit

2009-05-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

If the wedding gown was a token to remember for the bride, the Groom’s suit is something worth keeping for the Groom. Most men nowadays prefer to rent as first users than buy one for themselves thinking that they’ll be only wearing it once and buying their own suit is much more expensive.

Our Filipino culture on weddings has already evolved over the past years and the church is now open for a greater change on weddings. Some men still want to hold on to the old culture and prefers to wear Barong tagalong but most men nowadays prefer the modern American style and prefers to wear a coat and tie either white or black.

It was easy for Jeff and I to look for a modist that would meet our preference with Jeff’s attire on our wedding and that was at Camerons. He preferred to wear Barong Tagalog and slacks for our wedding. The Barong was made of pinya cloth that his parents bought during their trip to Batangas a few months before the wedding. We saved a lot of money from his attire since we only paid for the Barong’s labor and for the inner shirt and slacks.

Here’s some snaps of the Groom's attire:

The Bridal Gown

2009-05-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most important details in a wedding that should be given more time and consideration is the Bridal Gown and the Groom’s attire. For practicality’s sake, most Bride and Groom nowadays prefer to rent their wedding attires from local gown stores in town as first users while some people, those who have more budget, wanted to have their attires kept as a remembrance or a token of this special event that will only come once in their life.

Looking for designs for my wedding gown was quite a challenge for me. Yes, there were lots of wonderful designs over the Internet but the question is, does the design look good on me when I wear it? Can the modist do the job? Can he exactly make the design that I want? Is it feasible and affordable? I keep on asking myself those questions and then finally, gave up on the idea. All I wanted was the gown to be simple but would look good on me, a long white gown with a lot of bead works, tube-type and a long veil. I suddenly started browsing through shops on their ready made gowns, thinking of buying the gown for my own remembrance. When I went to the gown shop of my wedding organizer, there was this beautiful gown, fully beaded and the design was real sexy. I fell in love with it, the first time I saw it. And so Jeff and I decided to include it on our package. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding on the wedding organizer’s end. Our agreement was that I’d buy the gown except that the gown should not be available for their customer’s to borrow. What happened was they had the gown used on 2 of their weddings for the month of May. I was disappointed. I only have 2 months left before the wedding day that gives me only a little time to look for a designer who is willing to make my wedding gown in 2 months! Luckily, Jet, one of my agents recommended me an officemate whom also happened to be a good friend of my superfriend, Panyang. I laid out my design and the details of the wedding gown and Josh, the designer was happy to do my wedding gown. He made some adjustments on my design and offered me the whole wedding accessories as part of the package. I was the first bride that he’s designing a wedding gown and so he is really trying his best to impress us with his work. Well for future recommendations of course.

Here are snaps of the wedding gown, a few days before the wedding. It’s almost done.

Snaps of the wedding gown, a few hours before the wedding:

a view at the front

a view from the back

The wedding gown, with me wearing it:

at the wedding

The Wedding Rings

2009-05-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

In choosing the best ring to symbolize your love for each other, it would be best that you canvass first with your partner before finally deciding the right wedding ring. Wedding rings vary from gold, white gold or silver plate to big and thin designs. Some may have diamond stones in it while some just wanted it plain gold or silver.

For Jeff and me, we wanted our wedding ring to be two-toned so it would blend when I’m using gold/silver plated jewelry. Aside from that, we wanted something that is not common and something that’s unique. We search through the pawnshops and jewelry stores in malls and across CDO but we could not find what we were looking for that would fit our budget until we checked out Suarez Weddings Rings in Limketkai Mall. They offer lay away plans that it is payable for 6 months or depends on whatever type of plan that suits you. As for us, Jeff and I paid PHP1000 as down payment and paid for the remaining balance until the sixth month. Here’s a glimpse of our wedding ring:

According to superstitious beliefs that I read online, it is not good luck for the couple to buy the engagement ring and the wedding ring at the same time and that the wedding ring should only be worn on the moment that the couple exchanged their vows. So it is not advisable to fit the ring before the wedding just like it is not advisable to fit the bridal gown/ groom’s suite before the wedding.

My Surprise Engagement Ring

2009-05-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

An Engagement ring is a piece of jewelry that symbolizes a man’s commitment to a woman he asked to marry him. The ring is usually made of silver or white gold with a big diamond stone on top of it. With this piece of jewelry visible on a woman’s left-hand ring finger, it automatically means that the woman has accepted the marriage proposal and is engaged to her man who is also known as her fiancé. This is one of those moments that every girl is dreaming of.

It was March 1, 2008, our 19^th monthsary. Jeff called me from my station and asked me to go with him in the locker room. I didn’t know what for but I just followed him thinking that there was something that he wanted to tell me that he didn’t want my agents to hear.

Once we got to the locker area, Jeff handed me a box. It was a black and white box with brown steel on top of it. It looks really nice! When I opened it, I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was an engagement ring! He slipped the ring on my ring finger and asked me again “Will you marry me?” and I said YES! It was a thin ring with a tiny diamond stone on top of it that fits my ring finger perfectly well. Jeff was really clever because when we ordered our wedding rings at Suarez Wedding Rings, he asked the sales lady to take note of my ring size and ordered an engagement ring with the same ring size and I wasn’t aware of that nor even got a hint! Jeff’s really full of surprises and he always knows how to surprise me without me having a hint.

The ring itself was a surprise because I already informed him that I don’t need a pricy engagement ring, as long as it was from him that would be enough for me. I can just wear any fancy ring (even if not real silver), anyway I am not allergic to fancy jewelry. But this was too much for him to give me knowing that we were quite struggling with the wedding preparations. Still, Jeff insisted that he wanted to give me something that’s pricy and something he would be proud to see that I’m wearing. I guess he didn’t want people to say that the ring was from a Silver store in malls which means that it was affordable. Well, pricy or not, the important thing was that we were engaged and will be getting married soon. I believe that is all that matters.

Here's our pictures:

Personalized Save the Dates, Wedding Invitations and RSVP.

2009-05-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Save the Dates, Wedding Invitations and RSVP’s are three important things that should be carefully picked out in a wedding. It should give a brief description about your wedding and what type of wedding you will be having. It could be romantic, elegant, formal, by the beach, melodramatic and etc. It should reflect the theme or the “feel” that you and your partner want on the wedding. This would give your guests an idea on what to wear that is adequate and fit for the occasion.

Jeff and I always wanted to add our personal touch on the entire wedding preparation. Well, mostly, I’m the one who wanted to be involved in all the areas of the wedding planning. I guess you can’t blame me. I am just like any other bride out there who wanted the best part of their life to be perfect and unforgettable.

So our invitation was quite unique and of course we all got the idea online. We decided to give out Save the Dates first and the wedding invitation to follow a month before the wedding. It was not really part of the wedding tradition to send Save the Dates but for us, we wanted the Principal and Secondary sponsors to prepare 2-3 months before the wedding and to make sure that they save the date. Well that’s actually the main purpose of the invite. We want them to really dress up for the wedding (if possible) with the wedding motif. Our Save the Date consist of the time and date of the wedding, name of church and wedding reception, motif and the invitee’s role in the wedding (Principal or Secondary Sponsor). We sent our Save the Date’s 3 months before the wedding. Making the design was the tedious part since we integrated all the ideas that we got online to make our own Save the Date design. Thankfully after 2 days of revisions, we finally came up with the final draft. Here’s a glimpse of our Save the Date card:

The Wedding invitation was our next dilemma. Our first plan was a simple photo card in black and white with our collage of pictures in it. Unfortunately, our parents did not like the whole idea and wanted a different one. My dad suggested a scroll invitation and immediately volunteered that he will be sponsoring the scrolls. And so it was settled on both sides and I have to make another draft of the wedding invitation to be used on the scroll. It was the very stressful part of making the wedding invitation because we need to look for quality papers and the one that we liked was out-of-stock. We still have to wait for a month at National Bookstore for the orders to arrive. Thankfully, we were not disappointed. Our orders came a month before the wedding. Making one scroll invitation was not that tiresome but come to think of making 60 scroll invitation and 100 photo card invitations, wow that was really tiring! We feel so blessed because our bridesmaids who happened to be my agents and my best of friends offered their help in making the invitations. We made the invitation every Friday and Saturday for 2 weeks and amazingly we were done on time! Thank you to all my friends! This goes out to Elva, Louella, Dee, cousin Jiji and Nene, Manang Gina and to my agents Zee, Analyn, Amy and Noeme. You’re the best guys!

In addition, when giving out invitations, it is highly recommended that you include a Wedding Registry sponsored by any malls near you. To apply for one, all you have to do is go to the Department store and present your wedding invitation and you would be asked to choose a list of items that you and your partner would like to receive as a wedding gift. This is to ensure that you won’t be getting 5 rice cookers, 3 irons, 3 electric fans and the like. This would make it easier for your guests to know what present to buy for your wedding.

Here are our pictures while making the invitations:

Bears and Superfriends helping out in making our photo card and scroll invitations.

Photo Card Invitation:

Wedding Invitation:

RSVP:

Our Wedding Invitations with our souvenir:

Well good luck and Have Fun!

Sweet and Personalized Wedding Favors

2009-05-25T06:58:00.001-07:00

This time we will be talking about the wedding favors or commonly called as wedding souvenirs. As I was doing a research online for unique ideas on wedding favors, I stumbled into this certain website where a bride shared all about her wedding experience from the wedding planning to the wedding expenses. It was on this site that I got the perfect idea for a wedding favor. But first, let’s define what’s the difference and similarity between a wedding favor and a wedding souvenir. Actually, they serve the same role in weddings. They are wedding tokens given to guests as a symbol of the couple’s appreciation for their presence on this special occasion of the couple’s lives. Yet the difference is a wedding favor is something sweet and edible like a chocolate that is placed on the guests’ table for them to eat. A wedding souvenir is something that is given to the guests to remind them of the couple’s wedding. These are carefully designed souvenirs with a Thank You note and the guests can bring it at home and decorate/use it in their homes. Examples of these are scented candles, lamps, picture frames and more. You can search for it online to get a variety of wedding souvenir ideas.

And so I found the perfect idea for a wedding favor. Thanks to this bride who shared her idea online. It was a Choknat which they carefully wrapped with their initials on it along with the date and reception of the wedding. The Choknat was wrapped with a Sinamay cloth and sealed with a ribbon that corresponds to their wedding motif. Of course Jeff and I did not really fully copy her design. She was very generous to attach the template of her chocolate wrapper; we downloaded the template and I designed the details of the chocolate wrapper. This time we did not use a Sinamay cloth since it was very expensive. We used a yellow organza cloth and used a gold ribbon to seal it. Here’s a glimpse of our wedding favors in our wedding:

The template that we used:

The making of the candy favors:

The Finish product:

Our Wedding souvenir was a lamp. Even though people may call it a common type of souvenir given to guests on weddings, we find the yellow lamp the perfect symbol that would describe our wedding-simple but elegant and with our own personal touch. We ordered the lamps from this cheap store in Capistrano but to our dismay, she decorated the lamps with no sense of creativity and style. We just wasted 2500 for a souvenir that was decorated with no feeling at all, like all they cared about was the money that they’ll get from us. Good thing, Jeff’s mom came into the rescue and asked her officemate to redecorate the lamps at an affordable price and we were so impressed with the result. It was indeed just a lamp but my mother-in-law’s officemate decorated it with a sense of style, with feeling and passion and we were quite impressed with the result. Jeff and I loved it! So our wedding souvenir now had a sense of style, simple but elegant. Our own personal touch comes in with the Thank you note. Jeff and I both designed the Thank You note with our pictures in it. We attached it using a gold string tied on the center of the lamp. The one thing that’s nice when adding a personal touch with your wedding souvenirs is that it brings a beautiful and romantic outcome especially when the couple goes hand-in-hand in the entire process. It shows their hard work and team up which makes this phase memorable. Here’s a glimpse of our wedding souvenir:

If you’re interested, you may visit Abigail’s site for the template and instruction on making the Choknat wedding favor. Click Here!

Ask help from friends especially those that you haven’t seen in a long time. This is the perfect time to catch up with them on all the bonding times that you’ve missed. It sure would be memorable. Have Fun!

Ciao!

The Wedding Preparations

2009-05-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is where all the tension and stress comes in. We don't know where to start off with all the preparation and we want to make sure that everything is PERFECT on the day of the wedding.

Jeff and I browsed through a lot of online sites and read about how other couples prepared their wedding. At first, we wanted the wedding to be simple with only a 100 guests. But how could it be a simple wedding when we have 14 bridesmaids, 12 groomsmen, 2 maid of honors, 2 bestmen and 17 pairs of Ninongs and Ninangs. From that alone, we already have 47 guests, almost 50 guests excluding our friends and relatives. So we can't help but make it a big wedding. The only mistake that we had during the planning was we planned first before having the budget. We should have had a budget first then plan the wedding. One tip for those couples getting married, "Have a Budget first and then Plan". We only had a few savings on our joint account but its what helped us in starting off with the preparations.

We started off with booking our wedding date at the church and and the venue of our reception. This should be the very first things that couples should do. The church and venue should be booked first before anything else to ensure that you would not encounter any problems when the wedding date is just a few months away. As for us, we booked the church and the venue as of February 2008. This was to ensure that we get the slot for August 8 which was really a good thing because a lot of couples were planning to get married on this date because of the 08-08-08 date combination. We booked at the San Guillermo Iponan Church (my place) and our reception at the Pearlmont Inn, Limketkai Drive.

After booking the place, we started looking for wedding organizers and prepared for the following: entourage gown, my gown, cake and wedding souveniers. We already have a motif in mind and that is yellow and gold. I also keep a wedding checklist to make sure I won't forget anything. You can seach for wedding checklist on the Internet. As for me, here's my personalized checklist: (choose whatever applies). Good luck in your planning!

My Wedding Checklists:

Stationary

Invitation
Direction Card
RSVP or reply cards
Misalettes
Seating/Place cards
Pew cards (special guests and family)
Thank you cards (for gifts received)
Guest Book

Photography:

Wedding Portrait
Photo Album
Developing
Tarp
Signature Frame
Pre-nuptial pictures
Photo Coverage

Audio and Video

Video Coverage
Video/DVD copy
AVP /slideshow
LCD Projector

Bride

Bridal Gown
Tiara for the bride
Garter
Bridal pouch
bridal shoes
jewelry (necklace, earrings, bracelet)
handkerchief

Groom

Barong / Suite
Slacks
black shoes
white/black socks
handkerchief

Entourage

Gowns for Maid of Honor (MOH)
Best Man Barong/suite
Secondary Sponsors (Motif for Ninanngs, Barong/Suite fir Ninongs)
Bearer's outfit
Gowns for bridesmaids (BM)
Groomsmen's barong/suite
Gowns for flower girls
Parent's outfit
Crowns for flower girls, BM and MOH
Veil
Cord
cushions

Gifts

Giveaways
Wedding Favors
Bible
Utility Candle set
Arrhae
Personalized Match/lighter
Church Offering/Wine

Reception

Food and Beverage
Wedding cake
Chocolate Fountain
Baloon Arrangment
Decorations
Wine (bride and groom)
Music Arrangement
Wedding Program
Musicians
Emcee
Ushers and Usherrettes
Wine (for Ninongs and Ninangs during the toast)

Ceremony

Church decoration
Bridal Car's decoration
Unity candle stand
Choir
Songs for the mass
Flower and wine offering
Corsage for secondary sponsors
Petals and baskets (for flower girls)
Bouquet (bride, MOH, Mothers, BM)

Others

Wedding Bells
Dove with cage
Ice carving
Fitting rooms for Entourage
Confetti/poppers
Bubble machine
hair and make up
coordinator
Honeymoon booking

Transportation

Bridal Car
Grooms car
Entourage van
Vehicle for guests and relatives (church to reception)

The "Pamalaye"

2009-05-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

The common norms and practices that we have in our country when a couple decides to get married is the pamalaye (in Visayan Dialect). This is when the family of the guy goes to the house of the girl (where their parents meet) and discuss the details of the wedding. As for me, the so-called Pamalaye was held last February 8, 2008 with my lola (my father's mom) as the one who presided the event. This was the second time that our parents met face to face and they were so civilized with each other. (good thing!) Jeff and I were so nervous for fear that our parents might get into a conflict while discussing the details of the wedding just like what we see most in movies.

And so my lola started off with the prayer and asked each of us if getting married was what we wanted and if we were really ready for it. She explains that once we both say YES, there's no turning back and if we had any second-thoughts, it was the time to back-out. Of course, we both said YES and explained to them that we've already decided to get married last April 15 2007 and we didn't have any second thoughts about it.

The night went on with who pays this and who pays what. Dinner came after that. Jeff's family brought a lot of delicious food and we all ate in laughter and smiles.

Here's our pictures during the Pamalaye:

Decision Making

2009-05-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

So it was planned.

January of 2008, we finally decided the date. We finally decided that August 8, 2008 would be the perfect time for us to exchange our vows. And it seemed to us that our parents were ready and open to the idea of us getting married. Even though it shocked them of the sudden announcement and even thought that I was pregnant (but happy to know that I was not) they already saw it coming and that's why they supported us with our decision. Well, Jeff asked his parents first and when he had their blessing, we both talked to my parents and he asked for my hand in marriage. We were all so emotional and my mom was crying. L She couldn’t believe that her baby girl was getting married in 7 months! It wasn’t that easy blurting the news out to them and we had to practice every single reason on what we had to say. But in the end, the words came out so easily and after ensuring them that this is what we wanted and we were ready to get married, they finally gave us their blessing. Of course, part of what we assured them was that we already have our savings and a house in the making! So who wouldn’t say that we were not preparing for it?

Here's our pictures after asking permission from my parents. We were so tensed during the asking process and we felt like we need to get a break and celebrate.

The Marriage Proposal

2009-05-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Since this blog is all about weddings, I guess it would be best to start with my own wedding. We actually went through all the natural/normal way of getting married, from marriage proposal to asking our parents, pamalaye, shower and stag party, and all the important events that every getting married couple should go through not to mention all the stress.

So let’s start off with the marriage proposal. I guess every girl would want a perfect moment wherein the guy of her life would ask her to marry her, right? I know you’d agree with me because that was how I fantasized that day when HE pops up the question I so long waitied, “Will you marry me?” The funny thing is, when you get to be in that situation, you can’t think of anything else anymore. You would not even care if there were fireworks or if there was a candlelight dinner or an engagement ring on top of the cake’s icing, because all that really matters was that the love of your life asked you to marry him!

As for my experience, it was an ordinary afternoon; May 2007 while we were eating at Yellow cab that he asked me “Will you marry me?” I said YES! There were no second thoughts or “let me think about it” spiel. And I asked him if he was serious and he said HE WAS! And when he asked me if I was serious, I said I WAS! It was that plain and simple but very sweet and funny. No candlelight dinner, no fireworks, no ring on top of the cake but I guess what really mattered to me that time was HIM asking me to marry him. That same afternoon, after dining at Yellowcab,we decided to buy our enchangement rings to officially declare our engagement. Right there and then, we were engaged! I still couldn't believe it but it was all for real! It was a secret engagement and only a few of our closest friends knew about it. We were not ready yet to officially inform our families, we were waiting for them to be ready and they were not that ready, Not just yet.

Here's our pictures:

(dinner at Yellowcab and our Engagement rings)