W@w primer... handy dandy for wedding preps

Being a w@w (weddings at work) addict for my wedding preparation days, I relayed on some reading materials to make my wedding preps more efficient and inspired. Aside from the wedding magazines, I have my handy dandy w@w primer. It is one of the most helpful things that I had. There are tips and some wedding kwentos.

The w@w primer is the brainchild of the founders of w@w... Ms. Benz and Sir John Rana. A husband and wife tandem, whom during their own wedding preps moments felt that there is a lack of resources to pool Philippine wedding suppliers so they came up with the site (www.weddingsatwork.com) and of course gave birth (nanganak talaga noh! hahaha!!!) to the egroups that I grew to love!

This primer is printed every year and most of the articles are written by weddings suppliers so you know that you are getting the hottest tips from the people from the industry themselves. In this primer, Ms. Veluz Reyes shared her thoughts on getting the meant-to-be wedding gown. Ms. Madge Lejano provided her insights on having the right bridal make up! Hayyyy.. I love reading it.

These are the reasons why I gifted some of my friends who are getting married with the w@w primer.... hahahaha! However the best thing about this year's w@w primer.. our names are in it!!! Hahahaha... check out page 66. Soooo... I will definitely try by best to give my other friends who are planning their wedding.

my copy of the 2010 w@w primer! lav it!

yebah... page 66.. i always have a dream of being published.. hahahaha

things i forgot to note in our suppliers' rating

I just realized that I missed out some items that we used for our wedding or suppliers that we failed to recognize. This is a big boo boo for me.. I think I am just overwhelm with how things worked out for us.

We are now on our 3rd week as man and wife... and I am really happy that say that Christian is more sweeter... loving.. and caring than how he is before we got married! I am shocked actually on how he is behaving but I can say that I am loving it!

So here is the list:

Our wedding rings
http://www.iweddingbands.com
Peso power: gift from my cousins --- Kuya Boy & Benjie

Wedding rings are the only thing that will remind a couple that they are married and have committed themselves to love their partner from here up to eternity. This item on any wedding checklist can have a price range from 100 pesos to 100 thousands or even millions. For our wedding, we cannot afford any expensive rings. We checked out almost if not all the jewelry shops in SM Megamall and SM North Edsa and even in Trinoma to get the best deal that we can get. We have trimmed down our choices to the stainless steel rings with diamonds in Hearts and Arrows and the rings we saw at Suarez which we can lay-away.

Then come my friend from the US, saying that I should check out the stores online since it will be cheaper and I can ship it to her place and she send it to me. So, with the wonders of the worldwide web. I know what Christian wants for a ring.. white gold and very very plain! I did find it and when I showed it to him, he liked it. One of my cousin joked her siblings to buy it for us and they did! Happy happy happy. We just had it engraved here for 120 pesos each ring!

simple and sweet.. we want it to be wearable everyday with our lifestyle... wow as if active!

Next...

Suit of Christian and my dad
Chancellor ---> SM Centerpoint
Pesos power: 2,1999 each with free pants... plus 45 pesos for length alterations

This must be one of the good finds that we have had among the many ones. Christian is not particular in getting himself a suit for the wedding. He originally planned to just rent one from Gardini's. When we learned about the Onesimus outlet store in Mandaluyong and the prices that they give, he agreed to check it out. But before we got to the outlet store, one ordinary day at the mall, by instinct, I checked out some of the suits that they have inside SM Centerpoint. My mom was with me at that time since we just picked up our invitations from Impress Prints in San Juan.

At the men's department, I saw some sale signs up. I got excited since it goes lower and lower and the one that really caught our attention is the one from Chancellor offering the free pants. My mom then decided to get one for my dad as well but we need to split the bill... hehehehe.. That same weekend we all went to SM Centerpoint to get the suits.

The suit is not bad. It looks great on Christian. My dad looked good also. People taught that we have it made or something since it fitted them well. It is really a good find.

Luvs!

Christian's neck tie
Arrow
Pesos power: 399.00

This is most painstaking item that we need to find. Christian wants it to be green and he wants it on a particular shade of green! He said that he will have the "IT" factor if he sees the right one. We went to almost all the men's store in Trinoma, tried to search in SM and he ended up buying one at the Arrow corner in Landmark! Gosh!

Christian's Shoes
Hmmm.. forgot the brand!
Peso power: 900 pesos... on sale at Robinson's Place Manila

I already scouted for Christian's shoes before the wedding. He bought his shoes the night before the wedding.... Yes folks! The night before! I was in a panicking mode at this point since I still have to have my nails done! Talk about pressure and cramming! Oh well he got them!

Christian's polo
Hmmm.. no idea of the brand also
Peso power: 699.99... not on sale.. too bad!

He wanted to take the black route... so be it! He chose it... I left him with his best man to chose which polo he likes... He also bought this the night before the wedding! Very nice right? I still have to pick up the principal sponsors' tokens and meet up with my 2 entourage members at the mall. Sigh!!!

When I saw him with the polo on... I noted myself that he did well in choosing his polo!

My supposedly bridal shoes
Janilyn
Peso power: 1700 ---> it was on sale way way way back in November

I fell in love with these shoes when I saw it last November. I have worn it at home just to break it in!! LOL!!! I even took it during my fitting! On the day of the wedding.. my sister and my bridal assistant were helping me out put it on! Happiness.. UNTIL.. I stood up and took a few steps... ouch ouch ouch.. hmmm the left foot does not feet right... I tried to walk, thinking that pain is ok for beauty! Hmmm... no no no!!! I cannot imagine myself kneeling painfully with these shoes one! So i changed! Luckily my mom brought my sister's graduation shoes! We are the same size! Life saver! Or else I will have my coordinator go to Robinson's to buy me a new pair!

i can just exhale heavily... i really wanted to wear this pair of shoes!

i tried to wear the shoes at the office... damn it is really small for my fit!

Birdcage worn during photo shoot and reception
from Greenhills
Peso power: my mom and sisters got it for me.. I really don't have an idea how much is it!

Just want to take note of this one! I really really wanted to have a birdcage. I really liked the idea of wearing it during the church ceremony. I searched far and wide then one day when I got home my sister said that they got me one! I am just so happy and thankful! Nice nice nice!!!

the birdcage was perfect!

Xtian's best man suit
Gardini's
Peso power: 500 plus 200 for pants and 1000 refundable deposit

You will probably make fun of us when I tell you that we got Xtian's best man's suit the afternoon before the wedding. Christian is such a crammer right! All the cramming moments were all his assignments! So co-w@wies.. please take time to check on your h2bs... hehehehe! Wag kulitin.. Check lang! Well good thing, Gardini is really easy to transact with. We went to the one along España beside UST. Butay just have to find the size suitable for him. Problem though, the pants were too short if he gets one in his size. Solution.... he got a bigger one! Hahahaha... All together it was so easy! We returned the suit the Saturday after the wedding. Security deposit was given back with no questions! Perfect!

Michael.. or Butay (his lastname) .. Christian's best man.. suit looked nice

Paper materials... DIY materials
Ever-trusted National Bookstore
Peso power: 500 - 1000 pesos ---> got a 500 peso National Bookstore gift certificate during our Christmas party

Nothing can beat do-it-yourself projects.. Our wedding brought out the creative me. I am honestly not creative... I can think of the things I can do but not actually implement it... I don't know photoshop that well .. used MS Word and MS Powerpoint! Hehehehe.. In the end, it all went well.


I hope I did not forget anything else! It was fun doing the suppliers' ratings. It was fun to plan the wedding all together. The only thing I don't want to think about is money part. Eventhough our budget is very limited... when people give praises on how elegant looking and how fabulous the wedding is.. my heart skips! All the research and constant comparison paid off. Christian still has a hangover of our wedding. He cannot believed that we pulled off such a big project!

Now our next project.. hehehehe... SECRET!

the team that documented the start of our history

Chug Cadiogan
Address: Unit 1E4 Bright Condo, 60 Sct. Santiago cor. Sct. Rallos, Quezon City
Telephone nos.: 0917.514.1560
Email address: chugcadiogan@gmail.com

Jayson & Jo Anne Arquiza
Address: Unit 4i, Tower 1, Dansalan Gardens, M. Vicente St., Brgy. Malamig, Mandaluyong City
Telephone nos: 0917-815.6111 (Jayson)/0917-815.6112 (Jo Anne)/531.1837
Email address: jaysonandjoanne@gmail.com

Paul Vincent
Address: 83-D Aramismis St., Veterans Village, Proj 7, Quezon City
Telephone nos.: 410.5126/0928.500.6912
Email address: paulvincentphoto@gmail.com

Phoeben Teocson
Address: #9 Manga Road, Brgy. Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City
Telephone nos.: 0927.653.6187/0922.833.9942/0922.TEOCSON (+639228362766)
Email address: phoeben1@gmail.com / phoeben1@yahoo.com

Inclusion:

• Wedding Coverage by Paul Vincent / Jason Arquiza / Phoeben Teocson / Chug Cadiogan; We will offer our services in form of Photo and Video coverage with onsite video only; all images will be given to the couple in DVD form.

Peso power: Priceless.. got the services from the w@w auction

It is known to most w@wies and the followers of our blog that we originally booked a different photo/video supplier to document our wedding. But due to the wonders of the annual w@w auction, we were able to grab hold of the photo-video package provided by the 2 of the best photographers and 2 of the best videographers in the Philippine wedding industry. Yes folks!!! 2 teams of photographers and 2 teams of videographers!!!!

There will be no contention on how I will be rating them. They are the best of the best. Before the wedding, I was able to meet three of them... Jayson Arquiza, Paul Vincent and Phoeben Teocson during the W@w Christmas party last November. They personally introduced themselves to us and we really find that very humbling. I was actually starstruck to be infront of the greats! Even in our wildest dream, we never realized that we will be having these great talents for our wedding.

During the preparations, it was just funny when I started to ask them of how many will be the members of their team. I needed the head count to prepare for the pack lunches as well as the food to prepare for the reception. Come and behold.. they will be bringing their respective teams! When I added them up it will be around 14-16 people! Yahoo.. Yahoo! Those are the photo-video alone and not counting the other suppliers... Good luck to us. Gen Teocson even joked during one of the bridal fairs that they might ended up as our only guests... LOL!

Come wedding day, Phoeben and Gen Teocson's team was the first to arrive of all our suppliers. I was on panic mode by that time since my OTD coordinator was not there yet, Val's team was not there also. Hmmm... I will I stall this people. They just went through my DIYs and the rings and other wedding stuff.. They just went to work smoothly. Bim really looks serious when he is behind the camera... I am actually scared to come close to him... hehehehe.. but Gen is really friendly and sweet. Their team made the onsite video shown during the reception and everybody loved it... we loved it.. we still watch it ... i just watched it this morning! Nothing can beat that... An onsite video is one item on our nice-to-have list. We cannot actually squeeze it in our budget but Bim & Gen gave it to us as part of the package and we are really really thankful for that!
Chug Cadiogan

Next to arrived is Jayson and Jo Anne Arquiza... Jayson is the life of the party. He kept on making us laugh and instructing me and my family what to do. Christian said that Jayson actually made him smile which is very rare for Christian to do during photo sessions. Jo Anne on the other hand is the silent type. She works quietly. I cannot wait to see the photos from them.

Then Chug Cadiogan came with his team. He said that they were late because of the traffic from Quezon City to Manila.. It took them one and a half hour to get to the hotel from Timog! He swears that the candidates for the elections are really a pain! Hahahaha... Bwisit nga ba Chug? With Chug's work, we still have to see the final video. I am really hoping that we are able to get it in time of the arrival of Christian's sister and uncle in June. I am keeping my fingers cross for that!

Then Paul Vincent arrived with Ayvih. Gosh, these two are just so humble. They just started shooting when they got in. Well.. after bantering with the rest of the group. I cannot believe that they worked together very well. I can still hear the shutters of Paul Vincent clicking in my ear as I write this rating! When I got the dvd of the pictures last Friday, I just cannot stop looking at it. Sigh!!! This is what they call wedding hang over... It is just worth it!

The pictures below are taken by the Ayvih I guess.. hehehehe... It simply documents the team at work. If I remember it right, Ms. Benz of w@w told me that these 4 talents really wanted to work together for wedding.. that is why they provided there services for the w@w auction and they have auctioned it for at least a year or two but no one ever got it until we came along. Lucky us.

I just cannot imagine how we were able to fit all our suppliers in the bridal suite! Too bad the hotel does not have a one-bedroom suite!

Jayson & Jo Ann Arquiza taking a rest...

Paul Vincent & Jayson ... two photographers at work.. Gosh.. I never guessed it right who to look at ..

Chug shooting inside the church grounds....

Bim playing around... I never realized that he was there! Hahahaha...

With the team of photo-video guys... nothing can be compared to this

as they say... there is always a woman behind the success of every man... me with the women behind the
talents ... Jo Anne Arquiza, Gen Teocson, Ayvih delos Reyes and Mai Cadiogan
(we asked Chug to bring along his wifey.. since the rest of the team will have their wifeys with them since they all work together.. lugi naman sya di ba?)

love it!

We feel really blessed to have our photo-video team. No matter what rating I give them.. there is no match to the gift that they have given!

the projects that made it!

I never thought that I will ever do any DIY projects for our wedding. I can say that with a little bit of creativity and determination, I was able to pull off some of it. Here are some photos to showcase how they end up during our big day!

the centerpiece luminaries... with candles already provided by the hotel. It listed all the chat room rules we have for the reception

the luminaries serves as our table numbers as well... here it is together with the recycled jars that I have decorated and ballpens for the wish cards

the misalette... I used parchment paper for the covering... I simply printed it out to cover our misalette...

the sign pens... we used this for our guests to fill out the wish cards

our 2ndary candles.. the first DIY project that I made.

There is one project that this not made it to our wedding day and that will be the escort cards. I really have a down moment during the wedding preparations and it happened 3 to 4 days before the wedding. I really don't want to think of the wedding anymore. I just stopped thinking about it and doing the projects. Time just stood still for me! However, I was able to start a new but it was too late to catch up with the projects.

Lesson learned: Do the projects earlier...

the team who coordinated...

Teodoro Events Solutions
Telephone no.: 385.7757/0918.921.5397
Email address: teodoro.events@yahoo.com

Peso power: Php 16,000 less 50% for GC and Php 500 discount
Php 2,000 for emcee

I originally got another OTD Coodinator for our wedding but due to some feed backs and bad vibes... I decided then to look for an alternative... Luckily I got a certificate for a 50% off for the on-the-day coordination services of Teodoro Events Solutions. I met up with Teddy at UP Technohub before going to work and he is extremely organized.... I like!

During the preparations, I had 2 meetings with him... One is with Chi, the emcee that he recommended and the other is to look at the venue for them to help us out with the layout for the reception. For both meetings, it really went well. He asked for copies of our suppliers' contract so that he will have reference. He prepared a schedule of the activities for the day of the wedding.


On the day of the wedding... I would say that they did very well! They were able to think of something when they raised the problem about the door at Pope Pius. Since I forgot all about that and they really wanted for me to have my grand entrance at the church. The team covered the doors! Also, I asked them to check out the executive suite that I have used for the preps and to transfer all the stuff in the room to my family's room. They did that without any flaws. I handed over all the centerpieces that needs to be placed on the guests' tables, instructed what to do with the luminaries... when we arrived at the venue.. my DIY projects are all arranged perfectly... LOL! Love it! Teddy provided me with a personal assistant, Ate Leonie and she is really patient! My train is so long and she has to carry it everywhere I go!

By the end of the day, Teddy and his team did a great job. His sister was able to upload our onsite video online so we can share it to other family members and friends who were not able to make it to the wedding. They will also be providing a NSO copy of our marriage certificate since one of the team members works for NSO. They even provided 2 bears as token for the pair who will be at the garter game!

I also just learned now that they provided candies and treats for our guests at the church and at the reception venue so they will not go hungry! LOL!!! Too bad most of our guests were really hungry when we got to the hotel!

Teddy at work before the offertory part of the mass

the free bears provided by Teodoro Events ... they were given to the couple who were part of the garter churva...

Chi, the emcee recommended by Teddy... Our guests said that she is very pretty and she did well.

At the photobooth with the team of Teddy!

Rating: 5/5

Where the preparation & celebration took place

Pearl Garden Hotel
Address: 1700 Adriatico Street, Malate, Manila
Telephone no.: 525.1000 local 203/208
Email address: pgarden@info.com.ph
Peso Power:
Reception - Php 65000 is their rate that they have for a wedding reception but we have a different price. Just PM me.
For the rooms - Php 3400 less 20% for Deluxe room
- Php 4600 less 20% for executive suite

If you are a follower of our blog, you would have known that our caterer is originally Hizon's but since we were having an awful time looking for a venue that will be cheap; I tried to look for an alternative. We even tried to check out Max's near the church but they do not want to accept April weddings because of their renovation plans! The next Max's big enough for a reception with 100 people is in Baclaran! No way! Aristocrat is too pricey! Scratch that. I even tried to check out the hotel where one of the couples in our pre-cana seminar will be having their reception! When Christian saw the website.. he said .. hell no!

The search paid off. Out of the blue, I discovered Pearl Garden Hotel. I have seen the site of the hotel and the rooms look impressive.. Hmmm... I was thinking that it might look good because it is an ad picture. What the heck, I emailed them to inquire about their reception rates. When I got it, this is really promising! I showed it to Christian and he said we should check it out, and that we did. We even tried the food during their Valentine’s Day promo. Food was great! Venue is presentable enough and the rooms are just the same as the photos! Lovely! We decided to have our wedding reception there, as well as the wedding preparations. All in one place and at a very good price.

Before the wedding, it is really to deal with Arleen, the AE assigned to us. She is easily reached through text and emails. She patiently answers all the inquiries and carefully looked into all the list of don'ts that we have. We took out a lot of stuff in the wedding amenities.... We are not the typical newly weds plus Christian does not want the whole shananigans! hehehehe...

The day before the wedding, the check in was a breeze. The staffs are really helpful. Our rooms were really beautiful. We booked 3 rooms for the day before the wedding -- one executive suite for me, one deluxe king for Christian and a deluxe twin for my family. It was also well noted that we will have the executive suite for late check out. Room service is fast also since we requested for a lot of ice. Hehehe... However, when we requested for them to fix the rooms; that took a while! We have to call 3 to 4 times. Aside from that, the rooms are great! The breakfast buffet is also good… it is not Spiral or Heat but it is a great deal.

For the reception, they really set up the venue in a very formal way. I love the way that they placed our cake as the center of attraction. They even went their way to get our two seats! Hehehehe! The colors that they have really matched our color motif! The staff even placed votive candles inside our luminaries!!!! All the requests that I have made they followed! Food wise! The guests were raving about the food. We did not hear a single complaint about it. They loved everything. Good good good reviews! Thank God. We even sampled the leftovers… I attacked the lasagna when they delivered it to our room!

The service is fast as well. They have student interns around so there were 3 servers per table! The VIP table seems to have 1 server to 2 VIP guests! The turn around of the food was really fast! The head waiter even apologized that it took like 3 minutes for our soup to be served! Service is two thumbs up.

Oh the only downside of the whole hotel thing, the expensive parking in the area. We forgot to tell our OTD Coordinator to get verified parking stubs for our guests! Christian said that they get a minus point for this one! LOL!

If I will be ask if I will recommend them, definitely yes! Especially to those planning a budget wedding! We just received a message from our AE that we still have the 10% discount if we stay in the hotel soon… so we are planning to celebrate Christian’s birthday there… and even New Year’s Eve! Yehey!

Rating: 4.99/5

I need to deduct something for the parking... I am a submissive wife! LOL!

Invitation Layout! the YM layout!

Graphizar

Telephone no.: 0922.8211281 (Noel) /0917.8822745 (Krisel)

Email address: graphizar.designs@gmail.com

Peso power: Php 500

I already have a vision of the invites that we will have. Since me and Christian decided on having a Yahoo Messenger theme, we have to have the interface of YM as part of the layout. I tried to do it on my own but the printer that we got needs to have the layouts in high resolution.... Hmmm.. dumb dumb alert! They said I have to do it on Corel Draw or Photoshop. It read as foreign language to me.

Then came in Graphizar! Co-w@w Sis Krisel & her hubby, Noel, started the business to do caricatures and they have incorporated doing layout for invites as well as monograms. So I grabbed the opportunity for them to do our invite layouts. I have the concept but I don’t have the juices to do it in the programs being asked by Impress Prints.

It was easy transacting with Sis Krisel. After I deposited the money, it took around two weeks for the final layout to be sent to us. I guess they are really busy with the pending work that they have. With the rates that they have, they might have been swamped by orders. In the end, the wait is fully worth it! Christian is so happy with it. Keep on saying that our invites is so unique and not the typical invitations that is out there.

Kudos to Sis Krisel and Noel. More power to their business….

The entourage card..

the main invite... i really like the combination of colors

Rating: 4.99/5
there were some misspelled words but i did not bother to have it changed by them

Printer for our Invites

Impress Prints
Address: Unit 5 148 R. Lagmay Street, San Juan City
Telephone no.: 727.4704/994.7081/0922.899.8858
Email address: impressprints.biz@gmail.com
Inclusions:

• main card
• entourage card
• 3"x5" RSVP or thank you card
• standard envelopes
• mailing labels ---> we changed this to monogram stickers instead
• free black and white printing of map at the back of RSVP card
• 2 free tumblers

Pesos power: Php 4200 less 10% from the bridal fair ... Php 3780 ---> gift from my cousin

Invitations... Invites... I never knew that picking a type of invite will be hard. I never had the idea that there are different kinds of prints -- letterpress, thermograph, digital print, embossed.. the list goes on! OMG! People can really get carried away with this wedding stuff. I visualized our invites to be a unique one. It will be good to have the old embossed type like my mom and dad's but when we asked for the price, we were shocked. Our jaws literally dropped as if we saw a naked person infront of us. We checked our some invites at Card Prints in SM North Edsa... and they can go up to 100 pesos. As Christian picked his desired design, the prices go up! Oh man, my fiance turned hubby really has taste! Ahem ahem ahem.. looked at me!

So off I went to bridal fairs to get discounts... I knew that we will be ending up with digital print invites but I don't have any regular layout. I wanted something that will represent us and something that will be aligned with our theme. At the Themes and Motif Bridal Fair last September, me and my cousin, Pam went to the booth of Impress Prints! I already inquired with them through email and they replied that they will be able to print the design that we wanted. When my cousin heard of the price, she said that it will be her gift for us. Yehey... less item on our budget. We booked them right there and then!

It is really easy dealing with Jen and John. Right after booking them, they were able to email us the wordings that we can choose from. They also emailed the details that we talked about during the fair. That is really impressive. After I sent the layout of our invites, we were able to get the mock invites the very next day. Sweet! They even did the alterations when we found some misspelled names and words on the mock invites. Impress Print is really flexible. I actually sent them a low resolution file of the map that I have made but they were able to create one for us! They just give good customer service! Winner! It was a good choice to get them!

The print of the invite was good and really good quality. Everything went smooth and really hassle free! Anyone looking for a good quality printing within a budget, Impress Print is a good way to go!

Rating: 5+++++/5

Guest souvenirs anyone? .... Gummie Bears

Gummie Haven by Five EB Enterprises
Address: Metro Manila
Telephone no.: 502.0268/0917.537.0294/0919.524.1151
Email address: eileenantazo27@gmail.com
Peso power: Php 1000 for 50 packs of 50g gummie bears! 100 packs equals Php 2000

I already set my expectations that the photo booth will serve as our wedding souvenirs but Christian said that we should have another token that we can give our guests aside from the photo booth print outs. Now this is really a challenge... We have a limited budget and adding another item on the list is really hard! So I went online and looked for a most inexpensive, most practical token I could find. I know that Christian will not appreciate anything that is not useful. Hmmm... Think think think... Google... google... google.... I have looked far and wide and then I narrowed it down to something edible. Then I found Gummie Haven.

Affordable and really unique.. It is cute too! I told Christian about it and he liked the idea. So I texted Eileen, the owner. She called me after I made the inquiry and she emailed me some details on how to make the payment. We got 100 packs of gummy bears, which were weighed 25grams each!

We met Eileen at Trinoma to get the items and she placed it neatly in a big box so that the plastic will not be crumpled. They are also tied up according to our color motif! I loved it! They smelled good too! I wanted to try it right there and there but I have to restrain myself! In the end, it is really to easy to deal with Eileen and she can easily be contacted through email or text. The transaction was easy! No hassle at all. The guests loved the souvenirs too! Simple yet appealing! Just like me and Christian! LOL!

I printed out thank you tags to stick to the gummie bear packages....

Our OTD Coodinator team's help out place the souvenirs per table seating

Rating: 5/5

Something for our principal sponsors

The Russian Cookie House
Address: Makati City, Manila
Telephone no.: 0917.895.2863/896.5707/897.1115
Email address: russiancookiehouse@yahoo.com
Peso power: Php 280 per box ... Php 1680 for 6 boxes

On the last minute of the wedding preparations, my sister informed me that she will not be able to buy the tokens for our principal sponsors.. Hmmm... stress alert! When I heard about this one, I already geared up to look for tokens that will easier for us to get. Me and my mom went around Robinson's Place... Not very keen on getting some decorations thingy.... We are leaning towards something edible... Looked at small cakes.... and other chocolate stuff... ended up with Russian cookies. The boxes are elegant looking and I know that the cookies they have taste sooo good! I actually received a box of their wonderful cookies when I was hospitalized last year and I have to wait for a week to savor it until my throat healed from the tonsillectomy. Good thing about this token is that I don't have to have to wrap it up anymore. I have some personalized thank you cards printed out already.

On the night before the wedding, I just passed by their outlet at Robinson's Place and bought 6 boxes.... Wrote on the thank you cards and slipped it in between the ribbons! Perfect.. Elegant looking yet simple enough to represent us. We are food loving people and an edible token truly shows me and Christian! The day after the wedding, I went to my aunt's house and both my mom's sisters were raving about the cookies. They both said that the cookies are so good. I even received a text message from my cousin, whose mom is one of our principal sponsors, asking me where I got the cookies! We are both glad that our principal sponsors appreciated our tokens even though it was not well planned! That is the beauty of on the spot thinking... they come up to be the most suitable!

just simply wrapped... the way that we want it to be!

I made personalized notes for our ninongs and ninangs!

Pistachio cookies up front... looks really good right?

Rating: 5/5

suppliers' lunch...our lunch.... tapsilog from Sinangag Express

Sinangag Express
Address: Gomez Building, 708, Pedro Gil cor. L.M. Guerrero St. Manila
Telephone no.: 526.6992/525.4089
Peso power: Php 45.00 per meal ... Php 2250 for 50 pack meals

The suppliers' lunch meal is one of the most dreadful item in our planning phase. I really wanted to serve something that is not fried chicken but will not hurt our wedding budget. I made up my mind on getting Mang Inasal meals since me and Christian both love Mang Inasal. When we went around the area near the hotel, there is no Mang Inasal branch in sight. I tried searching online and the nearest branch is the main office in Pasay. Hmmm.... scratch that idea!

While walking to the hotel, I saw a Binalot store but their price range is still beyond the budget. Me and my mom even searched inside Robinson's Place Manila just to find the best lunch meals we can find. When I was with Sharleen after roaming around the Malate area, I saw the Sinangag Express branch infront of UP Manila. Hmmm... value meals at 45 pesos each.... tapsilog galore! I love tapsilog and I hope my suppliers like it too... they are also open 24 hours so that is a plus. We can order in very early!

Morning of the wedding.... I asked my sister, Andie and my friend, Bethany to go to Sinangag Express to order our lunch. At the store, Bethany told me my sister almost ordered for 80 pieces! Good thing, Beth remembered that I said 50 pieces only! Gosh that will be a lot of tapsilog to go around! One bad thing about the whole experience, they were told that they cannot deliver the 50 pieces!!!! WTF! So Andie and Beth had to go back to the branch and picked up the orders. Well, they did not complain about it! We served water as drinks .... since that is what they bought!

Personally, I haven't got the chance to taste the food but my relatives said that it was good. The suppliers did not complain and they just sat at the lobby of our rooms while the munch on their lunch. We were able to feed every supplier that we have! We were around 35 suppliers and some relatives plus my two female entourage! Only 4 packs were left when everyone was done eating!

Sinangag Express is a good alternative to other value meals... and it cost fairly compared to the other take out... it's just too bad that they don't deliver come to think that the hotel is just two blocks away from their branch! Tsk tsk tsk...

A lot of sinangag (garlic fried rice).... plus sunny side up egg and tapa (fried marinated beef strips)

My niece, Dannielle enjoying her lunch!

Rating: 4/5

no delivery for bulk orders... lame!!!

under the magician's hands

Val Villarin
Address: 4A18 Francesca tower, Scout Borromeo St. corner EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City Telephone no.: 408.3492/0920.806.9726
Email: val_villarin@hotmail.com
Inclusions:

• bride's & groom's make up plus 3 personsfree
• prenup make up (was not able to avail of this one)

Peso power: Php 9000 for booking during the bridal fair

I am really not a fan of make up. I only wear make up for job interviews and when I don't feel good or whenever I am down. It has been a long time since I wore make up. So I am not really that happy in looking for a HMUA (hair & make up artist). During the Wedding Library Bridal fair, I had a trial make up done with another HMUA but booked Val Villarin instead. I booked him because of the raves given to him by co-w@wies plus the fact that most of the sisses at the w@w booth dragged me to Val's booth. When we talked about the price, I was hooked!

I was scheduled to have a trial with him before April starts but due to a very hectic schedule that did not push through. I will have to rely on the feed backs and the raves of my sisses. Come our wedding, Val was really chatty and nice. He moved very smoothly with all the cameras and the videos around us. He is really a pro. I guess he is so used to all the chaos around him during wedding preparations! I just love it! He even smiles for the camera! Winner! I opted not to have an airbrush application of the make up and go with the traditional application.

When we were done, I love my make up, specially the way my eyebrows were shaped! I love love love it! My friends also told me that my make up look great and I was really beautiful... lovely... all the positive adjectives you can think of.. LOL! I really feel beautiful on that day! Val really is a magician! I wish I have Val everyday with me to make me up! Hahahaha!!!! I now know the reason behind the raves for Val! He is simply extraordinary! His staff also worked wonders with Christian's hair. He kept on saying that the way that they made his hair did not show his thinning hair problem! LOL! He said that he should wear his hair that way! I even joked that I will buy the kind of hairspray that they used on him so that he can style it!

Rating: 5+++++/5

Where OUR history began!

Sta. Maria Goretti Parish
Address: Pope Pius XII Catholic Center, 1175 United Nations Avenue, Paco, Manila
Telephone no.: 525.9125/536.1820
Inclusions:

• mass intentions
• flowers
• red carpet
• air conditioning
• soloist with organ --> we did not avail of this one since we have the strings band
• electricity for video coverage

Peso power: Php 15000

Sta. Maria Goretti Parish is not a known church unlike the Manila Cathedral or San Agustin Church. Some people might have no idea where the heck is it. The area is more known as Pope Pius XII Catholic Center. The center is well-known to students of Catholic schools in the Manila area since there will be plays and other programs held in the auditorium of the center. I was the one who introduced this church to Christian. He really wanted a small church. He already set his eyes on Malate Church but when we heard mass in Pope Pius, he said that this is the one! I am just thrilled to hear that.

After booking our church, overflow of blessings came in. Christian got a job, we won the e-ring from the w@w Christmas party. got from the auction the infamous photo/video package and many more! We are really happy to have booked this Church. Every time that we come to this church we win 100 pesos from the local Lottery. Hehehehe!!!! The parish office is also easy to deal with expect for the fact that Ms. Lanie, one of the staff, is really a pain sometimes. She will be calling us non-stop about some details, like reminding us about the Pre-cana seminar when she already reminded us a day before the call. She also kept on complaining that me and Christian are hard to reach since we don't answer her calls. We informed her that we are night owls... We have our phones on silent mode every morning to get our deserving sleep. When she asked us what time is best to call us, we answered 6 PM, she went ballistic! LOL! I just provided the number for my mom's house so that she can leave a message for us with her. The other staff though, Bro. Vic is really easy to talk to. He even have us borrow a copy of their misalette. He is such a darling! They are really not strict with passing the requirements and making the full payment. We passed our documents a day before the wedding and finalized the details the day before. I was just shocked that they have to charge us 500 pesos per electric equipment that will be plugged! I cannot believe that they have the same rate as the hotel! Oh well, I have to deal with that. Just let it go!

During the wedding, the priest is really articulate and really funny. My mom kept on saying that the cameras made father really nervous! However, I really really love the sermon but Christian said that it is too long! One way or the other, the ceremony is really solemn and sweet! The sound system is good as well. The air conditioning was fine according to our guests! I was on the other hand was melting because of the spotlight! The flowers that they have looked good also. It was not right to be choosy about the flowers since it is El Niño, in my mind any flowers will do! The arrangement is not that bad! Problem though, the wooden door cannot be closed! My OTD team have to cover the glass door with white cartolina to have the dramatic entrance! hehehehe! Oh well... I missed out on that one during our preparations. We really thought that the doors can be closed! Sorry! But if you want a really cozy and really intimate wedding, you will never go wrong with this church!

not so lavish.. not so plain... but simple enough for us

nice shots ....

plain ol' malaysian mums.... sana ginawa nilang yellow!

beautiful altar!

i never realized that the church actually have a chandelier... me & xtian usually seat at the side of the church when we hear mass here!

this altar made me love the church more!

Rating: 4/5
i need to deduct something for the very makulit and masungit lady in the parish office... plus the fact that I have to pay extra for the electricity charge!