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!

Photobooth Galore -- Click D' Fun Photobooth

Click D' Fun

Address: 35 Regency Avenue, Citihomes Regency, Merville, Parañaque

Telephone no.: 510.6281/0922.869.2884/0917.793.9984

Email: inquiry@clickthefun.com

Inclusions:

• 3 hours of unlimited high quality 4R shots
• unlimited photo standees
• studio lights
• live preview
• fun and wacky accessories
• online gallery
• DVD copy of all images taken
• customized tarpaulin - free during the bridal fair

Peso power: Php 9500 less 10% for booking during the bridal fair

The photo booth is a request from my sister Sharleen. She and our cousins and nieces really like having their pictures taken and we really wanted to get our guests souvenirs that will not be just for display at home. I browsed for photo booths during bridal fairs. At the Weddings and Beyond Fair at the NBC Tent last January 2010, me and Kristell (yes, Kristell again!) came across Click D' Fun and when we got our pictures taken, we loved how the color of their print out popped up! It is so colorful and very clear. We tried several others more. I then leaned on two options --- Click D' Fun and Baicapture. Both have good deals for onsite bookings. Both have good photo print outs. Hmmm... I like the personality of the person I talked to at Click D' Fun... so we went back to their booth and booked them.

It was Brenda whom I talked to that day. She is really nice and easy to deal with. She replies quickly to my constant emails! LOL! We love love love the layout that they made. It did match the theme! Yahoo messenger galore! There was no problem with them for us to move our venue!

Come wedding day... the photo booth was a hit with our guests. All my relatives and friends have a good time having their pictures taken! Even the waiters and crews at the hotel had their photos taken! hehehe! The printing was fast and the quality is the same good quality that we got during the fair. Christian also liked it! I just have to wait for the owner to get the payment though. I already soaked at the tub, updated my facebook account, wrote a post at w@w, updated my blog and still no owner to get the payment. We were already wondering what happened. When the owner knocked on our door, he handed the DVD and the tarpaulin. He apologized also because he did not oversee the photo booth anymore... his wife Brenda gave birth to their baby girl earlier that day! Yehey.. their baby's birth is the same day as our wedding! Congrats to Brenda and her husband... I am so bad I was not able to catch his name anymore! Sorry!

Rating: 5/5

To have or not to have entertainment... we have one!

Beatitudes Strings Ensemble

Address: 3003 South Road, Raminel Subd., Dalandanan, Valenzuela City

Telephone no.: 279.1253/0928.700.7935/0917.867.3396

Email: agapestrings@yahoo.com

Inclusions:

• 2 violins
• 1 keyboard
• 1 male singer

Peso power: Php 7000 for both church and reception --> a very special rate!

We really don't have any plans on getting a wedding musician for our wedding. It is one of the listed items in our nice-to-have. One of my grade school classmates actually offered to play his violin during the church ceremony. My classmate has been playing the violin since our pre-school days and he is now a musician on board cruises. When we met during our reunion last March, he informed me that he will not be able to play for us since he is scheduled to go on-board on April 12... just 3 days before the wedding. So in return, he told me that he will be referring me to his cousin who is a wedding musician. I was hesitant at first. Christian is not really keen on adding costs to our list of payable but I tried to get in touch with Kuya Lito Santos.

Kuya Lito is easy to talk to over the phone. He even joked that he might have seen me already when I was younger since he is the one who usually picked up my friend from school! When we talked about the package, I told him that the price is ok with me. I really did not ask for Christian's decision on this one. I wanted to surprise him. Kuya Lito then asked me to email him the songs that we wanted. I emailed him after I paid the down payment. I only wanted one song to be played... Francis M's Labsong! It will be my bridal march. Francis M. is Christian's favorite singer. I know that the band will be having a great challenge to play it. It is not your usual bridal march song and not many people know it! I even texted Kuya Lito to ask if they are having problems with my song and he assured me that they are practicing it already.

When the door of the church opened, all I could her is the opening phrases of Labsong...

Under a shield of darkness
Your face flows in the moonlight
Amidst the cloudless stars
And the sky so high
Don't wanna break free from your embrace
Just wanna look at your lovely face
Hold me 'til the end of time.

If it takes a lifetime
'Til the days turn into nighttime
Forever 'til the next life
'Til the light escapes my eyes
Together you and I.

It never ends cuz it always starts
Love so deep in the fathoms of my heart
Drowning in an ocean of emotion
You're driving me crazy and I'm helpless
I'll be taking a shower in the madness
So please say yes cuz I'll be confessing to you
That I need you so.

I just love it. When Christian and I were seated during the readings, he kept on saying that he is happy that the band played Labsong and they rendered it beautifully. The band also played the church songs impeccably. I like the singer's voice even though I was not really eyeing for a male singer but I was proven wrong!

Beatitude Strings gave a formal ambiance to our reception as they played during dinner. They played very well as well. My relatives kept on saying that the band is really good and where in the heck I discovered them. They said that it is just too sad that the band did not play anymore after the program since most of the guests went home. I just hope that Kuya Lito's band played Labsong again during the reception. I was not able to savor it since the aisle was too short.. LOL!

the male singer was really good ...

Rating: 5/5

Wedding photo teaser

To those who does not have a facebook account or is not on my friend's list, here are some pictures taken by Paul Vincent Photography during our wedding day. I will be able to post more once I get the DVD of all the pictures! When Christian saw these pictures, he just said wow and he cannot wait for us to get all the photos. We will definitely need to save up for the album! Anyone who is willing to sponsor that for us????? Anyone????

the empress's new clothes!

Sheah Designs

Address: 202 Torres Bldg., Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Telephone no.: 0917.862.8867/0923.940.6867

Email address: sheahdesigns@yahoo.com

Inclusions:

• 1 bridal gown
• 1 maid of honor
• 1 mother
• 2 bridesmaids
• 3 secondary sponsors
• freebies: veil, secondary veil, cord, 2 pillows, use of body form

Peso power: One big secret between me and Sheah! A really good deal!

After having a very very bad experience with a gown maker in Divisoria, Manila, I went online and search for new talents of designers and even trusted w@w gown makers that will be able to make me a gown within our budget. The w@wies did not fail to provide me with referrals but I came across Sheah Vicente. So I scheduled to meet up with her last October and dragged Christian with me. As any OC bride, I brought with me the design that I wanted and showed it to her. I also shared with her the type of gown that I wanted --- with a v-neckline and empire waist cut. She made me a sketch and I loved it. She also showed me the materials that she will be using and I liked it too. I am really not a big fan of silk! The price of the package is not bad as well. It is within the reasonable range that I was hoping for. So me and Christian decided to get her for my gown as well as for my mom's and the whole female entourage.

Dealing with Sheah is really really smooth. She is easy to be reached and she replies to text messages quickly. She is also online a lot which makes is easier to communicate with her! Her staff are also friendly and efficient. Sheah even helped me carry all the gowns when I picked it all up in her shop! She also told my sister to take the her gown back to her shop so that they can repair it and she can use it for another occasion.

me and sheah waiting for the go signal to dress up... see bim's staff working while mai cadiogan enjoying her coffee.. hehehehe


i love my gown...

sheah and ate jackie fixing my sister's gown...

i like the color of my female ento's gown

the long train!

Sheah Designs is definitely one of the good finds that I came across online. She made me looked beautiful on my wedding day and my dress perfectly fits my huge huge body. I just love her! I am looking forward of her making me some dresses to wear on formal events... I have several weddings to attend to in the upcoming months... She is one of the best suppliers that I have on my wedding day!

Rating: 5+++++/5

Flowers ... flora... bulaklak!

JVM Flowershop

Address: Stall 11 Dos Castillas Street, Sampaloc, Manila (Dangwa)

Telephone no.: 493.0504/0909.516.5094

Inclusions:

• 1 bridal bouquet - calla lilies and green carnations with green foliage
• 1 maid of honor - white roses with green fillers
• bridesmaids - white roses with green fillers
• 3 secondary sponsors - wrist corsages of white flowers and green fillers
• 3 female principal sponsors - nosegay of white flowers and green fillers
• 1 mother - white roses with green fillers
• 1 tossing bouquet - free from the package
• 1 offertory flower arrangement - free from the package
• 10 boutonnieres
• loose petals - free from the package (not delivered!)
• 1 bridal car flower - (it was not delivered!)

Peso power: Php 6105.00 less 10% for booking during the Bridal fair last January

I am not really particular with flowers. I am not a girl who knows the types of flowers out there aside from the common ones like roses and tulips. I even thought of having the flowers as a project and use paper or cloth as materials. I downloaded several ways of doing it already but when I got the a bridal fair last January, I came across JVM Flowershop and they quoted a price that is reasonable enough for us. So I asked Sis Kristell from w@w to book them for us. Yes, Sis Kristell again... she is my bridal fair companion! LOL!!!

During the whole preparation it is easy to deal with Ms. Lanie, the owner of the flowershop. We talked about the details and the flowers that I wanted for my bouquet --- green cymbidiums with white roses! I wanted green flowers and cymbidium is the best green flowers that I have found. Unfortunately, two days before the wedding I was informed by Ms. Lanie that they will not be able to get green cymbidiums due to the El Nino.... Curse you global warming!!!!! So she showed my green carnations that will be used instead. Not the green effect that I wanted but it is okay. I cannot mess with nature! She told me that she will just add green buds or whatever you call it and I requested to have white calla lilies in the middle instead of the white roses. Now that is finalized!

Come wedding day.... Ms. Lanie personally delivered the flowers. They all looked good. I am not really happy with my bouquet though since it is not green cymbidiums and the lilies looked a little bit withered already but I guessed that is really due to the hot weather. The boutonnieres are also not that beautiful. I texted her the day before to have the groom's boutonniere to be different but Christian's flower looked the same as the others. I was the one who received the flowers since my OTD coordinator is still not around. I forgot to checked the bridal car flowers and the loose petals. They also delivered an extra bouquet, thinking that the groom's mom was missed out in the list.

my bridal bouquet... still thinking how it will look like with green cymbidiums!

principal sponsors' flowers... with the rose boutonnieres....

nice shot!


secondary sponsors' wrist corsage... i like the green ribbon!

nice nice nice.. daisy!

the offertory flower.....

When I texted Ms. Lanie about the bridal car flower not being delivered, she simply replied that my coordinator did not text her anything about it. I was actually expecting another reply from her since we added an additional of 300 pesos for that to be included in our package. She even asked me to add an additional amount for the green cymbidiums. I was really hoping that she offered something else like have us get a floral arrangement or something but none. So I just let it go! Too tired to deal with this one!

To those looking for a florist, JVM Flowershop will give you the value for your money. They are really good but I guess it is also my fault not to really count the flowers when they delivered it. Ms. Lanie is really easy to deal with and she replies quickly to text messages.

Rating: 3.5/5

I really wanted the green cymbidiums! Plus they did not deliver the bridal car & loose petal.. I also texted them a few days ago for them to make me the same bridal bouquet and they are charging me 800 pesos even though I told them to less the payment I made on the bridal car flowers!

Wanna piece of cake?

Gervy's Amazing Cakes
Address: #9 Visayas Avenue corner Ledesma Court, Quezon City
Telephone no.: 391-1127
Email: gervysan04@yahoo.com
Peso power: Php 5000 less 10% for booking during the Wedding Library Bridal fair last February plus Php 800 for delivery

Our wedding cake is from Gervy's Amazing Cakes. We really don't have any plans on getting another supplier for our cake but when I passed by Ms. Gervy's booth during the Wedding Library Bridal fair last February 13, 2010 I saw the cake that will greatly represent me and Christian. It is a bucket of beer with real bottle of beers in it. This cake is definitely us! It symbolizes what we love doing!!! I just booked it without consulting Christian. I trusted my instinct that he is going to love it to! Good thing when I showed him the photo later that evening, he just loved it! Nothing describes our hobby together but a bucket of beer ... 3 San Mig Strong Ice and 3 Red Horse.

With Christian loving our cake, we went to Ms. Gervy's shop near our house to determine the details of the cake --- I never imagined that it will be hard to pick a flavor for the cake and the filling. We ended up with having mocha for the cake and chocolate & kahlua for our filling. Yummy. We also talked about how the cake will look like with the small details of having emoticons at the base of the cake to continue with our Yahoo Messenger theme!!! Winner!!!

The verdict on the cake during our reception ... it became the center of attention! Our guests loved it, even my cousin who was online the whole reception ceremony loved it! It became a conversation starter for our guests. They just adored the idea of the beer buckets and the bride & groom toppers looked fabulous!

Our wedding cake by Ms. Gervy... Really really simple.. just like we wanted it.. nothing fancy and not too many tier...

The cake upclose... we really really love the emoticons... It tasted good also!

Hmmmm... having a hard time cutting through the chocolate covered cake

The case does tasted soooo good!

The taste of the cake... it is good. I love the chocolate that covered the cake. Ms. Gervy is actually known for having chocolate rather than regular sugar as fondant for the cake. I proudly distributed the cake to our relatives the next day after the wedding and they all love the taste of the cake. My sister actually attacked the emoticon chocolates when the cake was transferred to our room after the reception! Our cake did not just looked good but it tasted great!

It is also easy to deal with Ms. Gervy. I really like working with someone who can recognize their clients when they see them and she is one of them. We had our cake delivered to the venue for her to execute her cake as she envisioned it Ms. Gervy is definitely one of the best cake suppliers .... and we did not go wrong in getting her.

Rating: 5/5