Date: August 23, 2009
Venue: Don Hen, West Ave.
When: August 01, 2009 (9:00am)
It's good thing we arrived early at Malate Church because we were the first couple in line for the interview. We filled up some forms and while waiting for the priest, more than 5 couples arrived (also for their interviews).
Bride first - that is why I was the first one interviewed by Father John. Although I read some feedback from the w@w forum, I still can't help but be nervous about the interview. I even asked Dhang (of Malate Church) what happens if you don't pass the interview, she laughed and told me not to worry. It was a casual interview with Father John. We talked about my lovelife (yup, including my past bfs), my work, my family and of course, my relationship with Tim. He even gave me a gift about dieting because I told him I need to lose a few pounds for my wedding. I think it lasted more or less 15 minutes before he asked me to call my groom. I think his interview with Tim was shorter, because as you know, Tim really isn't the talkative type.Ü
As Father John told me, our being opposite is a good thing because we compliment each other (e.g. introvert-extrovert) and it would be a good balance for our future kids.Ü I enjoyed my interview with him that is why I asked him if it is possible for him to officiate our wedding. He told me I can request for him (I told Dhang to note it down on our documents) and it would still depend on his schedule by November.
One down and two more seminars to go (Sept 6 and 13) and we'll be done with our church requirements.Ü
Upgrading the church flowers was not part of our "must have" list. When I contacted the accredited florist of Malate Church, she gave me an estimate of Php 300.00/pot for the upgrade of the aisle flowers -- and with 10 pots, it would already costs us Php3,000and this still does not include the altar flowers.
However, my mom's only request was to have beautiful flowers on our church and she was even offering to shoulder the expense of it. With our tight budget, I know I would have a hard time convincing Tim to get the upgrade and I was almost close to saying "yes" to my mom's offer.
Good thing there is W@W (Weddingsatwork)! I got an idea from a fellow bride that if you want to lessen the cost for the church flowers, try to ask if there is another wedding before or after our wedding schedule (same day) and get in touch with the bride to see if she is willing to "share" the expenses for the flowers upgrade.
I was hesitant at first to try the idea (imagine, nahiya pa ko?Ü) but when I think about it, I have nothing to lose right? If the bride doesn't agree to share, then it's alright.. at least I tried.. and if the bride agrees, then it's another "tipid" idea for us.
I didn't even tell Tim of my plan because I'm not sure if he'll agree (alam mo naman, medyo mahiyain si Tim.. hehehe!). I called Dhang of Malate Church and inquired if there is another wedding on Nov. 21. She said "yes", they have the 2:30pm slot, while ours is at 4:00pm. I asked Dhang if I can have the name and contact number of the bride, she asked why and when I explained my purpose, she gave me her name and cellphone no. She added that the bride is "nice" and would be easy to approach.
I texted my fellow Malate bride on that same day without really expecting if she'll reply or not. But just after I sent my text message, she replied back asking for my landline. I waited for her call.. and guess what... we spent at least an hour on the phone, talking like long-time friends already.Ü She is not a fellow w@wie, but she is very hands-on with her wedding. We discussed our suppliers - from the caterer, to the hair and make up, photo and video -- and of course, the hightlight of our conversation -- the church flowers. She said she already talked to her florist about it and she is willing to share the costs of the flowers with me since "flowers" are not on her priority list and she doesn't want to spend a lot for it. With the amount she gave me, it was not even half the price of the amount that was given to me by the accredited florist of Malate Church. We even agreed to have "white" calla lilies on the aisle so that it would be a neutral color for both of our wedding.
I was soooo happy!Ü After we ended the call, I texted Tim and gave him the good news!Ü I can't wait to meet her and her h2b (husband to be) and by this time, we're already planning a trip to Dangwa to visit "our" florist.Ü
We went to the Wedding Expo last weekend with only one agenda - book WINK for our wedding invitations. We almost booked them at the Megamall Bridal Fair but we decided to hold it off since there is an upcoming expo this month. This proved to be a good decision because WINK was only offering 10% discount last bridal fair and they were giving out 20% discount at the PICC Wedding Expo.
The wedding invites are included on our "least priority" list that's why we were happy with the quotation that they gave us. Our package will include the main invite, entourage insert, RSVP card, envelope and sticker seal. We're still thinking if we'll have our map printed out from them since it will be an additional cost of Php 5.00 per piece.
Note: Tita Lyn will shoulder the cost of the invites as her wedding gift for us.Ü Thanks tita!Ü
Received this text message from Bianca last March 03, 2009 7:12pm:
As promised, the nicest flowers that you can find for your budget.Ü i will make sure Ü
The text message really made me smile because now I know I don't have to worry about our wedding flowers. Bianx knows more about flowers than I do and I trust her that she can really find the "nicest flowers" for our wedding.
As for the budget, I received a call from Ate Girlie (my cousin that is currently based in London) telling me that she can't come home for our wedding but as her wedding gift, she will shoulder the expense for our wedding flowers.Ü Yipee yipee!Ü I was very excited when I told Tim about it because it would mean we can scratch "flowers" from our wedding budget.
Again, thanks ate girlie and bianx!Ü
When: February 21, 2009
Where: Bizu Greenbelt
Tim and I attended the W@W Chat Unplugged sponsored by W@W (WeddingsatWork). It was attended by other w@wies and these suppliers:
Eddieboy Escudero (photographer), Veluz (gown designer), Jody Liwanag of Events Experts (events planner), Ronald of 4th Wall (production design), Jong Mesina & Ghia Pastoral of The Write Impression (social printer), Audrey Tanco of Bizu (private caterer & cake confectioner), and Jason Magbanua (videographer).
The highlight for me was meeting "Jason Magbanua" and "Veluz Reyes" in the flesh! My God! I was really starstruck when I saw them. I've been checking their websites/blogs regulary to see their latest works. I know and I have accepted the fact that we can't afford them on our wedding, so I have settle in just being a "fan" of these "masters".
Tim was really laughing at me because I kept on telling him... "Mahal, that's Jason and Veluz" and that I really need to have a picture with them. When the chat ended, I approached Jason and asked him if I can have a picture taken with him -- hindi na talaga ko nahiya kasi this is now or never! I may not get to see him again or get another chance for a photo op. Please check out his website to see his works. Here's my photo with the "Master Videographer" - Jason Magbanua:
Tim was telling me that we should leave already, but I was firm with my stand that I would not leave Bizu without having a picture with "Veluz". Eversince we started preparing for our wedding, I've been drooling over the designs and gowns made by Veluz. Too bad we really can't afford her. She was having her yosi break outside Bizu when I approached her for a photo op. She was so approachable and makulit which made me love her more.. hahaha!Ü I was really a FAN!Ü I told her I've been looking at her designs and too bad her price range was waaaaaaaaay out of our budget. She said that I should still give her a call so that we can talk about --- Mahal, are you reading this???Ü A girl can dream right?Ü I was so happy at this point that's why I have this "super smile" on our photo. Please check her blog so see some of her works.
Here's my picture with the "mother" of W@W - Ms. Benz:
And lastly, here's a pic with my h2b (husband-to-be):
One of the package that I won during the w@w auction was the trial hair and make up with Val Villarin. I've been reading a lot of good reviews for Val that's why I was really excited for my trial make up. I initally planned to have the trial make up on our pre-nups, but then I realized if I had to wait by Aug or Sept, our wedding date may be blocked already by another couple. I told Tim I was willing to schedule an early trial so that I can already decide if Val is "the one" or I need to find another make up artist.
Since it's hard to get a weekend schedule for trial make up, I had mine on a week day - specifically, the last friday before Tim starts his new job. I really wanted Tim to see my make up so that he can tell me if I look good or not.
We arrived at Val's place 30 minutes late (so sorry) because it was really hard to look for a parking space. Val was very accommodating and immediately went to work on my face. I love the way he made it a "natural - no make up" look for me. I thought it would only be a trial make up that's why I was surprised when he started fixing my hair. As for the hair, I was not really happy with the finish product because I had a different style in mind. I told Val about this and he said it can be done as well. But overall, I was happy with the way I looked and Tim was "happier".
After some picture taking session, Val said we can talk it over first, have lunch and then just let him know if we want to pay the downpayment already to block our wedding date. We agreed, thanked him and went to lunch.
In the end, we decided to pay the downpayment so I went back to Val's place and sign our contract. I told Val I was hesitant to make the dp since he will be participating in the PICC wedding expo and I wanted to wait to see if he'll be offering discounts and freebies there. However, my fear was he'll get booked by another bride who has the same wedding date as ours. Hmmm.. I decided to let go of the discounts and freebies and just book Val already. What I didn't expect is that Val will give me a freebie -- yipee!Ü God is really good. I got a good make up artist, reserved him for our wedding and got an additional freebie on top of it.
Here's my "Val" look:
Tim and I attended the wedding expo at Megamall last weekend. Our main agenda of going there was to pay for our wedding rings at Meicel Jewelry and just look around. Tim was not keen on the idea of "looking around" since we've already booked our major suppliers. Wag na daw akong maghanap ng kung ano-ano kasi dagdag gastos.. hehehe!Ü
While looking around, we found the perfect gift for our principal sponsors. I won't mention it here in the blog para may element of surprise pa. I was so happy with our find and the good thing about it is that I got Tim's approval.Ü
We also looked at different invitations. I told Tim I really don't want to spend a lot for invites because these are not on our "priority" list. All I wanted was the "classic" look - white invites with embossed lettering while Tim had a different idea. He wanted the colorful ones and he even looked at the pop-up invites. Since Tim has given me the freehand to choose for the other suppliers of our wedding, I told Tim that he can decide for wedding invites. We found one that we both like with Printed Matter and we almost paid the downpayment so that we can get the discount and freebies that they are offering during the expo. I told Tim we can think about it first since there would be another wedding expo in March (at the PICC). Good thing we didn't make the reservation with Printed Matter because we found another invite that we like with WINK. Hopefully, we'll have our final decision with our invites before the next expo so that we can also avail of the discounts offer.
I also had a trial make up with Reiman of Reiman Hair & Make Up. Since he was offering a free trial make up, I told Tim I wanted to give it a try. I had a no make-up look and even Tim who doesn't appreciate make-ups said he liked my look. He was so impressed that he wants me to pay the downpayment already to block our wedding date and to avail of the freebies offered (retouch until the end of the reception). I told Tim I wanted to think it over since I have scheduled a trial hair and make with another make up artist. Here is my look:
Tim and I celebrated our 6th anniversary yesterday. 6 years without any break-ups -- so proud of that mahal!
This is the last year that we'll be celebrating our anniversary as boyfriend-girlfriend since we will be getting married on November. With this, Tim made sure that this year's celebration would be meaningful and special and I can really say he did not fail. The highlight of our celebration - Tim's proposal!
We've been planning our wedding since last year, but the idea to get married was a mutual decision. There was no proposal involved and I told Tim I was already ok with that. I did not expect that Tim had his own plans. He said he really planned to give me my engagement ring before our wedding - and the way he proposed was really a surprise for me. He's not really the "surprise" type of guy that is why I really appreciated his effort to make the proposal special.
As for our Anniversary dinner, I told Tim to let me plan for it. What I initally told him was to go to our house before 6pm and I'll cook something special for him (yup, you read it right.. nagluluto na ko). I just requested him to wear something formal and at first, he didn't want to kasi pagtatawanan daw sya ng parents ko. Dinner lang sa house and then naka-formal pa sya. I told him, I'll wear a dress para terno kami and I just to have our pictures taken kaya gusto ko naka-formal kami.
When he arrived at our place, I asked him to blow the 6 candles on our mini-cake. He was surprised to see me wearing a black dress, naka-heels, may bag and naka-ayos. After a few minutes, I told him na "alis na kami". He was totally clueless and he asked me "aalis tayo?". I said "yes" and our direction should be going to Roxas Blvd.
I asked him to drive going to Villa Immaculada (place of our wedding reception), he was still clueless at this point. Inside Intramuros, we headed to Illustrado. He was surprised to see the place and I told him I made reservations for us. It was the first formal dining experience for us and we really enjoyed the food and the ambiance of the place. We stayed there for at least 3 hours, eating, reminiscing and talking about our future.
Together with Tim, I went to Trinoma to meet Jade and Alyn (college friends). We had lunch at Bigoli, where we really enjoyed the unlimited bread (I think I had 3 and Jade had more than that).Ü We also watched a movie, since English movies are now showing. I managed to convince Jade to watch Transporter 3 instead of Bedtime Stories. While waiting for our movie (showing at 3:45pm), we stayed at Starbucks where Alyn and Jade ordered some drinks. After the movie, we had to say goodbye since we had different plans for the night. I really enjoyed our day -- thanks for the update and the chickas. Too bad there was no camera so we had to settle for pics using Tim's phone:
For dinner, it was a couples' night at Balsa where Tim and I had dinner with JM, Raine, Butch and Christel. Too bad Gem, Feli, JR and Amae weren't able to join us. We had a lot of kwentos and chickas -- but mostly the topic was about wedding and marriage. Hmmm... JM and Raine already set the year of the wedding but Butch is still quiet about his plans.
It was a fun day.. Thanks mahal for spending it with me and my friends.Ü