i got our rings today!
our jeweler (jewelex) called us up yesterday to inform us that they finished making our rings. i was so excited that i couldn't wait for the weekend. so, on my way to work this morning, i passed by the jeweler's shop and picked them up. i was so excited that i even forgot to bring my ATM card! i didn't want to pay through credit card because the jeweler adds 5% on credit card purchases. but the jeweler was so nice that i was allowed to pay the balance through credit card without the 5% extra.
the rings are exactly as what we imagined them to be. i am so happy with them that when i got to the office, i showed them to all my department mates. and then an officemate asked me if we planned to have them engraved. i thought that it was a good idea - the jeweler did say that the engraving was free.
so i sent rey a text message asking him what we should write on our rings - baboy and biik? bardagol and bulilit? fat and fatter?
he answered that it should be pogi and wangit (short for sungit na, pangit pa). i was so sure he was wangit but i couldn't be pogi! so i suggested beauty and the beast. he answered that he wasn't comfortable if anyone called me a beast. so he suggested beauty and sleepy or gimley and sauron. i told him that one ring has to bear my name or at least describe me. he then changed it to arwen and sauron because according to him, he looked like liv tyler. or was that li'l tanker?
he then confessed that he really wanted to have "eat at joe's" engraved on our rings but he didn't think i would agree. i then mentioned that the first words that i thought of was "expensive ring". (i did say that i love our rings but i didn't say that they were cheap!)
we didn't get to think of more words since i had to get back to work. but we still have 5 more months to decide. hmmm. i wonder what words will end up on our rings.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Thursday, July 29, 2004
sa piling mo
this is so embarassing.
right before i went to bed, i flipped through the local channels on TV to see if there was something interesting to watch. I chanced upon a coverage of an award's night and decided to watch a little just to see what the local stars were wearing.
after surviving the torture of listening to pops fernandez miserably trying to crack jokes with ogie alcasid, i was ready to turn off the TV. but suddenly, she announced that one of the philippines' better singers, regine velasquez, was going to render a song. regine began to sing in a her sweet voice that can give goosebumps to anyone who can hear. and then i got to listen to what she was singing -
Sa piling mo ako'y buhay
napapawi ang lungkot at lumbay
walang iba para sa akin
at habang buhay kitang mamahalin
ipinapangako ko
pakakaingatan ko ang iyong puso
hindi ka na mag-iisa
pagkat ako ay lagi mong makakasama
sa piling mo nadarama
ang walang patid na pagsinta
minimithi, gabi't araw
na ang magmamahal sa akin ay ikaw
(of course i didn't remember all the lyrics, i just got these from a post at weddings at work.)
she was singing it as if she was whispering it. i can almost imagine my bridal march. it was then that i realized that while i do want to get married and that i really am blessed for finding someone whose heart i would love to take care of, i would still leave my parent's home, a place where i have been happily living ever since i was a child.
i would have to leave my father, who used to drive me to and from school, which during my college years, was only five minutes away, but in my high school years, required a drive through the south expressway, the narrow roads of laguna and the scenic but steep paths of mt. makiling.
i would also have to leave nanay, my nanny when i was still a child, who up to now would cook misua every time anyone in the house, including my dogs, would celebrate his or her birthday.
and i started to cry. because i was reminded that where ever i go, my family will never cease to love me and that they would continue to try to take away my sorrow and my pain.
and then i heard regine wail. or rather continue singing the song by shouting or screeching. i was just too irritated to continue crying.
and thus, ended my journey through mushy lane.
right before i went to bed, i flipped through the local channels on TV to see if there was something interesting to watch. I chanced upon a coverage of an award's night and decided to watch a little just to see what the local stars were wearing.
after surviving the torture of listening to pops fernandez miserably trying to crack jokes with ogie alcasid, i was ready to turn off the TV. but suddenly, she announced that one of the philippines' better singers, regine velasquez, was going to render a song. regine began to sing in a her sweet voice that can give goosebumps to anyone who can hear. and then i got to listen to what she was singing -
Sa piling mo ako'y buhay
napapawi ang lungkot at lumbay
walang iba para sa akin
at habang buhay kitang mamahalin
ipinapangako ko
pakakaingatan ko ang iyong puso
hindi ka na mag-iisa
pagkat ako ay lagi mong makakasama
sa piling mo nadarama
ang walang patid na pagsinta
minimithi, gabi't araw
na ang magmamahal sa akin ay ikaw
(of course i didn't remember all the lyrics, i just got these from a post at weddings at work.)
she was singing it as if she was whispering it. i can almost imagine my bridal march. it was then that i realized that while i do want to get married and that i really am blessed for finding someone whose heart i would love to take care of, i would still leave my parent's home, a place where i have been happily living ever since i was a child.
i would have to leave my father, who used to drive me to and from school, which during my college years, was only five minutes away, but in my high school years, required a drive through the south expressway, the narrow roads of laguna and the scenic but steep paths of mt. makiling.
i would also have to leave nanay, my nanny when i was still a child, who up to now would cook misua every time anyone in the house, including my dogs, would celebrate his or her birthday.
and i started to cry. because i was reminded that where ever i go, my family will never cease to love me and that they would continue to try to take away my sorrow and my pain.
and then i heard regine wail. or rather continue singing the song by shouting or screeching. i was just too irritated to continue crying.
and thus, ended my journey through mushy lane.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
the great kate
i love our new account executive (ae)!
getting a venue for the wedding was the first thing we ever did for the wedding. as early as january, rey already booked a function room in mandarin for our party of 60. at that time, our ae was ms. olive poe. but we had a difficult time coordinating our skeds so she requested another ae, buffy, to handle our account.
we liked buffy. i preferred to communicate with her mostly via e-mail and she was ok with that. she usually answered my-emails within 3 days. she also gave us a lot of concessions (that or i'm too gullible). unfortunately, she resigned from mandarin. a few days before she resigned, she sent me an e-mail informing me that our account would now be handled by a certain kate de la cruz-cuan.
i've always wanted to confirm the details of our wedding with kate. after procrastinating for 2 months, i made a call to kate this afternoon. she was busy on the other line so i just requested the person who took the call to ask kate to return my call.
kate called me up in a few minutes. she asked me my name and our wedding date. upon giving her the information she requested, she informed me that buffy handed her the folder and assured me that all our correspondences are filed. she said that she'll familiarize herself with our account and that she'll send me an e-mail.
i also asked her some questions regarding the meals for some of our service providers. she volunteered to prepare a reasonably priced menu for them.
she also sounded nice and accomodating.
i hope she doesn's disappoint me.
getting a venue for the wedding was the first thing we ever did for the wedding. as early as january, rey already booked a function room in mandarin for our party of 60. at that time, our ae was ms. olive poe. but we had a difficult time coordinating our skeds so she requested another ae, buffy, to handle our account.
we liked buffy. i preferred to communicate with her mostly via e-mail and she was ok with that. she usually answered my-emails within 3 days. she also gave us a lot of concessions (that or i'm too gullible). unfortunately, she resigned from mandarin. a few days before she resigned, she sent me an e-mail informing me that our account would now be handled by a certain kate de la cruz-cuan.
i've always wanted to confirm the details of our wedding with kate. after procrastinating for 2 months, i made a call to kate this afternoon. she was busy on the other line so i just requested the person who took the call to ask kate to return my call.
kate called me up in a few minutes. she asked me my name and our wedding date. upon giving her the information she requested, she informed me that buffy handed her the folder and assured me that all our correspondences are filed. she said that she'll familiarize herself with our account and that she'll send me an e-mail.
i also asked her some questions regarding the meals for some of our service providers. she volunteered to prepare a reasonably priced menu for them.
she also sounded nice and accomodating.
i hope she doesn's disappoint me.
Monday, July 26, 2004
rainforest on ice
i've been worrying about our wedding cake for months. we're not having the usual fondant. rey wanted the cake to be something that we really like to eat. so, we decided to have rainforest, our favorite cake from bizu, as our wedding cake.
rey's worried about the consistency of the taste. so once in a while, we visit bizu to check if the rainforest is still as yummy as when we first tasted it. (actually, we're just finding reasons to go back to bizu.) we were never disappointed. the rainforest still tasted like a creamy ferrero rocher.
i was worried about the presentation of the cake. each rainforest cake is nicely made. but i wasn't sure if the design of the cake was enough for a wedding. i also wanted to incorporate my theme - paper cranes. so, i wondered if i should give bizu a dozen paper cranes and just let them stick the cranes where ever they want. i thought of having satellite rainforests on specially made pedestals. i also canvassed prices for cake stands. but no matter how i try to visualize it, the cake or cakes still looked so ordinary.
the problem was that rainforest is a chocolate cake that's surrounded by a chocolate sheet. so we were thinking that we could not use candles or spotlights in the cake area. otherwise, the chocolate would melt. it was because of this problem that we found the solution to our aesthetic problems with our cake.
to keep the chocolate cold, we have to use ice. but since ice can be sculpted or frozen into nice shapes, we decided to have our cake/s placed over blocks or columns of ice. when i discussed this with ronald of balay kandila, he liked the idea and said that it was workable. he mentioned that he used blocks of ice to prettify a sushi bar at another wedding. he also said that he'll see how he can incorporate our paper cranes. he promised to design our cake table! all he needed was a picture of the cake.
so now, instead of worrying about our cake, it's one of the things that i'm looking forward to. yehey!!!
rey's worried about the consistency of the taste. so once in a while, we visit bizu to check if the rainforest is still as yummy as when we first tasted it. (actually, we're just finding reasons to go back to bizu.) we were never disappointed. the rainforest still tasted like a creamy ferrero rocher.
i was worried about the presentation of the cake. each rainforest cake is nicely made. but i wasn't sure if the design of the cake was enough for a wedding. i also wanted to incorporate my theme - paper cranes. so, i wondered if i should give bizu a dozen paper cranes and just let them stick the cranes where ever they want. i thought of having satellite rainforests on specially made pedestals. i also canvassed prices for cake stands. but no matter how i try to visualize it, the cake or cakes still looked so ordinary.
the problem was that rainforest is a chocolate cake that's surrounded by a chocolate sheet. so we were thinking that we could not use candles or spotlights in the cake area. otherwise, the chocolate would melt. it was because of this problem that we found the solution to our aesthetic problems with our cake.
to keep the chocolate cold, we have to use ice. but since ice can be sculpted or frozen into nice shapes, we decided to have our cake/s placed over blocks or columns of ice. when i discussed this with ronald of balay kandila, he liked the idea and said that it was workable. he mentioned that he used blocks of ice to prettify a sushi bar at another wedding. he also said that he'll see how he can incorporate our paper cranes. he promised to design our cake table! all he needed was a picture of the cake.
so now, instead of worrying about our cake, it's one of the things that i'm looking forward to. yehey!!!
Sunday, July 25, 2004
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shooting with mazinger z
we're giving out CDs for our wedding souvenirs. rey and i already agreed on the design of the front cover. it has a picture of porkchop, my 10-month old chow-chow. rey gave her to me for our 9th anniversary last year. rey is now insisting that the design of the backcover should have a picture of what he got from me for that same anniversary - his mazinger z model.
i don't have any problems with having mazinger z on our cd cover so i agreed. but we still can't design our back cover because we still don't have a picture of mazinger z. rey insists on having a professional photographer take the shots. and when i volunteered to bring the model to a photographer last friday, rey refused! he said that he has to supervise the shoot.
i guess i'm not the only one being obsessive-compulsive about our wedding details.
i don't have any problems with having mazinger z on our cd cover so i agreed. but we still can't design our back cover because we still don't have a picture of mazinger z. rey insists on having a professional photographer take the shots. and when i volunteered to bring the model to a photographer last friday, rey refused! he said that he has to supervise the shoot.
i guess i'm not the only one being obsessive-compulsive about our wedding details.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Heaven in a Pair of Shoes
I had to work overtime today so I'm still wearing my new black ballet flats from Via Venetto. I've been wearing them for at least 12 hours, climbed up at least 5 flights of stairs and I didn't get a single bruise. I'm so happy I got them!
Ballet Flats from Via Venetto
I think I may have found my wedding shoes!
This is one major achievement since I have a hard time finding reasonably priced shoes. My feet are sensitive and they easily bruise when wearing shoes. So my shoes have to be made of the softest leather. I usually get my shoes from Celine, Bass, or if I'm feeling rich, Bally. However, I haven't seen wedding shoes from either Bass or Bally. Celine doesn't have simple ballet flats (flat shoes that look like ballet slippers.) (I think I mentioned in my earlier post that we decided to find ballet flats for me to minimize the chances of me falling down a flight of stairs and our wedding video ending up in America's Funniest.)
Anyway, going back to my story, on my way to Piandre in Greenbelt to have my hair cut, I passed by Via Venetto and saw that they were selling ballet flats. They have it in silver, which is (or will be, to be precise about it) the color of my gown. Unfortunately, the back half of their silver ballet flats was in white. I went in and inquired if they have a pair that's purely in silver. The sales lady told me that they can make one for me, I just needed to add P250 pesos. (The original price was P2,200. So my wedding shoes would only cost P2,400, which is much lower than the price quoted by Lila Almario.)
I wanted to know if their ballet flats fit me well so I requested for a pair in my size. They brought out a pair in silver and white. The shoes were soft and comfortable and the fit was good. The shoes treated my picky feet really well. I immediately wanted to own a pair! But since I don't have any need for a pair of silver and white ballet flats, I asked them if they have a pair in black. The sales lady brought out 2 pairs - 1 which was wholly made in kid leather with a rounded front and the other was made of a combination of patent and kid leather (patent at the toes and kid leather for the other parts) with a squarish front. I tried on the shoe which was wholly made in kid leather on my left foot and the patent-and-leather one on my right. The patent-and-leather shoe looked good with my suit!
At that moment, a nice golden-aged lady wearing a red chinese-inspired outfit and comfortable running shoes came up and asked if I was having a hard time deciding between the 2 pairs. I wanted to get a second opinion so I said yes even if I already decided on buying the second pair . When I mentioned that I usually wear pant suits, she suggested that I get the second pair since it looked more professional. So there, I got my second opinion! Naturally, I decided to buy them.
While the sales lady was packing my shoes and preparing the bill, the nice lady asked me where I worked and if I always buy shoes in their store. When I mentioned that my workplace was about 3 minutes away from Greenbelt and that I only have a pair or 2 of Via Venetto shoes but entered the store because I wanted to buy their silver ballet flats for my wedding, she suggested that I wait for their other styles to come out before I order. I explained that I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive when it came to my wedding and wanted to finish all the preparations early. She then volunteered to show me pictures of ballet flats that are still simple but had more details and suggested that I take a look at them first. She mentioned that since my wedding is still in December, I can order my shoes in September. I accepted her offer and gave her my contact details. (I was thinking that even if I don't see anything prettier in the new styles that she'll show me, I can still get the simple ballet flats that I wanted.) She told me to visit their store after 10 days. I am so looking forward to going back to Via Venetto.
After our conversation, I went to the counter and paid for my shoes. They gave me a noticeable discount! I got so excited that I forgot to get the nice lady's name. It's a good thing that she told me that I can communicate with her through her staff.
Now, I'm excitedly waiting for the pictures that she promised, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying my new pair of black ballet flats! My feet are in heaven. And my financial situation's not anywhere near hell.
This is one major achievement since I have a hard time finding reasonably priced shoes. My feet are sensitive and they easily bruise when wearing shoes. So my shoes have to be made of the softest leather. I usually get my shoes from Celine, Bass, or if I'm feeling rich, Bally. However, I haven't seen wedding shoes from either Bass or Bally. Celine doesn't have simple ballet flats (flat shoes that look like ballet slippers.) (I think I mentioned in my earlier post that we decided to find ballet flats for me to minimize the chances of me falling down a flight of stairs and our wedding video ending up in America's Funniest.)
Anyway, going back to my story, on my way to Piandre in Greenbelt to have my hair cut, I passed by Via Venetto and saw that they were selling ballet flats. They have it in silver, which is (or will be, to be precise about it) the color of my gown. Unfortunately, the back half of their silver ballet flats was in white. I went in and inquired if they have a pair that's purely in silver. The sales lady told me that they can make one for me, I just needed to add P250 pesos. (The original price was P2,200. So my wedding shoes would only cost P2,400, which is much lower than the price quoted by Lila Almario.)
I wanted to know if their ballet flats fit me well so I requested for a pair in my size. They brought out a pair in silver and white. The shoes were soft and comfortable and the fit was good. The shoes treated my picky feet really well. I immediately wanted to own a pair! But since I don't have any need for a pair of silver and white ballet flats, I asked them if they have a pair in black. The sales lady brought out 2 pairs - 1 which was wholly made in kid leather with a rounded front and the other was made of a combination of patent and kid leather (patent at the toes and kid leather for the other parts) with a squarish front. I tried on the shoe which was wholly made in kid leather on my left foot and the patent-and-leather one on my right. The patent-and-leather shoe looked good with my suit!
At that moment, a nice golden-aged lady wearing a red chinese-inspired outfit and comfortable running shoes came up and asked if I was having a hard time deciding between the 2 pairs. I wanted to get a second opinion so I said yes even if I already decided on buying the second pair . When I mentioned that I usually wear pant suits, she suggested that I get the second pair since it looked more professional. So there, I got my second opinion! Naturally, I decided to buy them.
While the sales lady was packing my shoes and preparing the bill, the nice lady asked me where I worked and if I always buy shoes in their store. When I mentioned that my workplace was about 3 minutes away from Greenbelt and that I only have a pair or 2 of Via Venetto shoes but entered the store because I wanted to buy their silver ballet flats for my wedding, she suggested that I wait for their other styles to come out before I order. I explained that I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive when it came to my wedding and wanted to finish all the preparations early. She then volunteered to show me pictures of ballet flats that are still simple but had more details and suggested that I take a look at them first. She mentioned that since my wedding is still in December, I can order my shoes in September. I accepted her offer and gave her my contact details. (I was thinking that even if I don't see anything prettier in the new styles that she'll show me, I can still get the simple ballet flats that I wanted.) She told me to visit their store after 10 days. I am so looking forward to going back to Via Venetto.
After our conversation, I went to the counter and paid for my shoes. They gave me a noticeable discount! I got so excited that I forgot to get the nice lady's name. It's a good thing that she told me that I can communicate with her through her staff.
Now, I'm excitedly waiting for the pictures that she promised, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying my new pair of black ballet flats! My feet are in heaven. And my financial situation's not anywhere near hell.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Fortune Cookies
I was reading the e-mails of a w@wie who mentioned about her groom-to-be's complicated ideas. I suddenly remembered my conversation with Rey about his ideas about fortune cookies.
A few days ago, he mentioned that for our wedding, he was thinking about rigging the fortune in the fortune cookies so that all fortune cookies will only have the same fortune - the groom will get rich. For about half an hour we entertained ourselves by thinking of fortunes like, "the bride will win the lotto" and "the groom will faint as soon as he sees mandarin's bill."
And you know what's even more funny? fortune cookies are not on our menu.
No wonder our wedding preps are moving very slowly.
A few days ago, he mentioned that for our wedding, he was thinking about rigging the fortune in the fortune cookies so that all fortune cookies will only have the same fortune - the groom will get rich. For about half an hour we entertained ourselves by thinking of fortunes like, "the bride will win the lotto" and "the groom will faint as soon as he sees mandarin's bill."
And you know what's even more funny? fortune cookies are not on our menu.
No wonder our wedding preps are moving very slowly.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
status of wedding preps
i've been a member of an egroup called weddings@work for the past few months and a lot of e-mails sent by wawies (that's what they call the members of the egroup) are updates of their wedding preparations. at first i didn't see the point of informing everyone of the tasks that i've already accomplished and the stuff that i still need to do. but a private e-mail from another bride who's also getting married on 27 december convinced me to make my own update - she's right, at the very least, i'd know if i'm already falling behind on my preparations.
so here goes -
essential requirements:
marriage license - we'll have to get one by october. i'll order our birth certificates from the National Statistics Office via the internet tomorrow.
officiating priest/officer - this will depend on whether or not our request for bishop's dispensation will be approved. i still have to submit the said request though. target is end of next week.
our health - rey's trying to survive the diet that his mom is forcing on him. i lost 4 lbs but gained 2 back. i need to get back to my exercise program. i'll also need to start eating sensibly. and i do need to go back to my dermatologist for my minor burns.
other requirements:
venue - done. we've booked the fontaine and nash function rooms at mandarin hotel. we've paid the downpayment and have sorted out details with our account executive. unfortunately, buffy, our account executive (ae) resigned so i just have to make sure that mandarin will honor our arrangements. so, i will need to confirm arrangements with the new ae. i should do this before the end of the month. oh, and i also have to make sure that the full payment for our basic menu is paid before 24 december. (perhaps we should pay up around the first week of december to take out any possibility that the budget for the reception will be mixed with our christmas shopping money. hmmm.)
menu - done. we've finalized our menu with our previous ae. i just need to request that the rice be served with the first main dish and to confirm our food tasting on 07 november. by the way, rey mentioned that he's expecting mandarin to serve fortune cookies, which are not in our menu. i hope that he forgets about these fortune cookies by december.
liquor - hmmm. we haven't done much for this detail. we're more or less settled on serving asti spumanti for our toast. (i'm still trying to persuade rey to agree to serve non-alcoholic sparkling drinks to our friends who do not or cannot drink alcohol). as for the wine, the cheap but good red wine i know is deakin estate shiraz and rey hasn't tasted it yet! i've to get a bottle and have him try it. but this can wait. he can taste the wine in october and we can start looking for a supplier around the same time too.
guest list - done. we only have 58 guests so it was easy to make the guest list. (the harder task is explaining to some friends and relatives that they are not invited to our wedding.) but, as the days go by, the list has to accomodate a few changes as some loved ones passed away and some friends have moved to far-away places (literally and figuratively).
entourage list - we've decided to have: (a) at most 3 pairs of principal sponsors; (b) my sweet and intelligent niece, nikki, as bride's maid; (c) my cute niece, sophie, as flower girl. i've spoken to the parents of nikki and sophie. i also explained to the 2 gentlemen whom we chose to be our sponsors that rey and 1 will be visiting them sometime in october to request them to stand as principal sponsors for our wedding. rey is in charge of looking for 2 ladies who will act as our principal sponsors.
gowns - done. i've met the designer, fidel marquez, and we already agreed on the design, fabric and cost of the bridal gown and the gowns of the bridesmaid and the flower girl. i just have to remind him again that i do not want any embroidery on my gown. i also have to discuss with him the gowns of nanay (my nanny since birth, she's now our lessee) and my sisters. i'll probably do this before the first week of august. first fitting should be scheduled in october.
accessories - when we started dreaming about our wedding a few years ago, i told rey that i wouldn't want to spend so much money on a wedding gown that i would only wear once, i would rather spend my money on jewelry. so, when i was given an opportunity to purchase solitaire diamond earrings with a total carat weight of 1.72 carats at a reasonable price and terms that are friendly to people like me who are only beginning their career, i grabbed it. the grabbing was quite literal as my officemate was also interested in the earrings. i made my last payment for the earrings last february! and it was a good buy considering that a few months after i purchased it, an actress wore solitaire earrings for her wedding and the rich, the not-so-rich, the pretending-to-be-rich and the wanting-to-be-rich all suddenly wanted a pair. so, in less than a month, the value of my earrings doubled!! i'm now looking for a solitaire diamond pendant. i wish i can find one that i can afford.
rings - we've found the jeweler who can make our dream wedding rings! we've had a design in mind for months but since we want our rings to have really clean lines, it took us a while to find a jeweler that would make them. i was supposed to claim them yesterday, but they called me up in the morning to tell me that they weren't satisfied with the finished products but i can take a look at them if a wanted to. the rings were beautiful! but since there are some imperfections, i agreed to have them make new ones. i'm already excited to see the perfect version of our rings.
shoes - beacuse of my not-so-graceful fall, rey and i decided that i'll be wearing ballet flats for the wedding. i don't think there's any glamor in falling down the stairs in a wedding gown and rey said that he wouldn't want our wedding video to end up in some tv show.
groom's attire - rey is responsible for this. he'll be the one wearing it, anyway. i'll bug him again early november.
father of the bride's attire - i already bought jusi for my father's barong but looking at it now, i feel that there's something better out there. i'll probably go on a trip to divisoria one of these days.
photographer and videographer - i've already met with and paid the downpayments to eddieboy escudero, john aguas and jason magbanua. rey's not too happy with the cost of the photos and videos but he couldn't complain as i'm the one paying for these services. i just need to give them final instructions sometime in november.
cake - bizu. my officemate, laxmi, is handling this. i just need to bug her sometime in october. rey and i have decided on the flavor (rainforest, the cake version of ferrero rocher. it's really yummy!) but we haven't decided on the presentation.
flowers - tecson flowers. rey volunteered to handle this.
musicians - done. we've already contacted mia, a friend who sings in lounges and jazz bars. we just need to send her our list of songs. we should do this by the end of july. i have to write her an e-mail before the week ends. i'm also helping a choir with their legal problems. they volunteered to sing for my wedding for free!
audio-visual presentation (avp) - still toying with the idea of flashing our pictures thru a projector during dinner while mia or the choir is singing. or should this be done during cocktails? if we do decide to have an avp, i'll have to start doing this next week. but first, i will have to find and learn a software for this. i guess i'll seek help from my fellow wawies.
sound system - done. we already paid the downpayment with sound syndrome. i just need to get balay kandila's requirements so i can finalize the package with elfren.
decor/styling - done. we already gave the downpayment to balay kandila. we also gave some of the materials for our centerpieces and we've seen the mock-ups for our floating glass bubbles. i've also given them the first batch of paper cranes. balay kandila promised the full mock-up by october. (i'm still thinking of looking for those round glass stones that are used in vases. what i usually see are the oval ones that are "rainbow reflectors".)
invites - we will be making our own invitations as we didn't find a printer that uses the paper that we wanted and that incorporates paper cranes in the design. we've made our mock-ups a few months ago and i'll start printing them once i confirmed the venues with mandarin. i've already started to fold the cranes but i still need to spray paint them in the exact shade that we want.
envelopes - i still need to contact the company that manufactures the paper that we want to see if they can make our envelopes. this should be done by the first week of august. if i have time, i'll have our envelopes lined. (i wonder if my helper can assist me on this one.)
souvenirs - we've decided on giving away double cd's. rey is compiling the songs for one cd, i'm responsible for the other. the songs in rey's cd are the ones that he likes to listen to while we're eating. the songs in my cd are the ones that i listen to at night. we've already found and met with the person (MG CD printing) that can meet rey's requirements and we told him that we'll give him the list of songs in august. as for the cd covers, we've already finalized the design for the front, we need to get rey's mazinger z model to a photographer for the back cover and we need a printer to execute our designs. this should be done by the second week of august.
gifts for parents - still looking!
program - still haven't done anything for this. we'll probably take care of this in november.
seating arrangements - done.
just making the list took me more than an hour! but i do feel better as i have the feeling that everything is under control.
so here goes -
essential requirements:
marriage license - we'll have to get one by october. i'll order our birth certificates from the National Statistics Office via the internet tomorrow.
officiating priest/officer - this will depend on whether or not our request for bishop's dispensation will be approved. i still have to submit the said request though. target is end of next week.
our health - rey's trying to survive the diet that his mom is forcing on him. i lost 4 lbs but gained 2 back. i need to get back to my exercise program. i'll also need to start eating sensibly. and i do need to go back to my dermatologist for my minor burns.
other requirements:
venue - done. we've booked the fontaine and nash function rooms at mandarin hotel. we've paid the downpayment and have sorted out details with our account executive. unfortunately, buffy, our account executive (ae) resigned so i just have to make sure that mandarin will honor our arrangements. so, i will need to confirm arrangements with the new ae. i should do this before the end of the month. oh, and i also have to make sure that the full payment for our basic menu is paid before 24 december. (perhaps we should pay up around the first week of december to take out any possibility that the budget for the reception will be mixed with our christmas shopping money. hmmm.)
menu - done. we've finalized our menu with our previous ae. i just need to request that the rice be served with the first main dish and to confirm our food tasting on 07 november. by the way, rey mentioned that he's expecting mandarin to serve fortune cookies, which are not in our menu. i hope that he forgets about these fortune cookies by december.
liquor - hmmm. we haven't done much for this detail. we're more or less settled on serving asti spumanti for our toast. (i'm still trying to persuade rey to agree to serve non-alcoholic sparkling drinks to our friends who do not or cannot drink alcohol). as for the wine, the cheap but good red wine i know is deakin estate shiraz and rey hasn't tasted it yet! i've to get a bottle and have him try it. but this can wait. he can taste the wine in october and we can start looking for a supplier around the same time too.
guest list - done. we only have 58 guests so it was easy to make the guest list. (the harder task is explaining to some friends and relatives that they are not invited to our wedding.) but, as the days go by, the list has to accomodate a few changes as some loved ones passed away and some friends have moved to far-away places (literally and figuratively).
entourage list - we've decided to have: (a) at most 3 pairs of principal sponsors; (b) my sweet and intelligent niece, nikki, as bride's maid; (c) my cute niece, sophie, as flower girl. i've spoken to the parents of nikki and sophie. i also explained to the 2 gentlemen whom we chose to be our sponsors that rey and 1 will be visiting them sometime in october to request them to stand as principal sponsors for our wedding. rey is in charge of looking for 2 ladies who will act as our principal sponsors.
gowns - done. i've met the designer, fidel marquez, and we already agreed on the design, fabric and cost of the bridal gown and the gowns of the bridesmaid and the flower girl. i just have to remind him again that i do not want any embroidery on my gown. i also have to discuss with him the gowns of nanay (my nanny since birth, she's now our lessee) and my sisters. i'll probably do this before the first week of august. first fitting should be scheduled in october.
accessories - when we started dreaming about our wedding a few years ago, i told rey that i wouldn't want to spend so much money on a wedding gown that i would only wear once, i would rather spend my money on jewelry. so, when i was given an opportunity to purchase solitaire diamond earrings with a total carat weight of 1.72 carats at a reasonable price and terms that are friendly to people like me who are only beginning their career, i grabbed it. the grabbing was quite literal as my officemate was also interested in the earrings. i made my last payment for the earrings last february! and it was a good buy considering that a few months after i purchased it, an actress wore solitaire earrings for her wedding and the rich, the not-so-rich, the pretending-to-be-rich and the wanting-to-be-rich all suddenly wanted a pair. so, in less than a month, the value of my earrings doubled!! i'm now looking for a solitaire diamond pendant. i wish i can find one that i can afford.
rings - we've found the jeweler who can make our dream wedding rings! we've had a design in mind for months but since we want our rings to have really clean lines, it took us a while to find a jeweler that would make them. i was supposed to claim them yesterday, but they called me up in the morning to tell me that they weren't satisfied with the finished products but i can take a look at them if a wanted to. the rings were beautiful! but since there are some imperfections, i agreed to have them make new ones. i'm already excited to see the perfect version of our rings.
shoes - beacuse of my not-so-graceful fall, rey and i decided that i'll be wearing ballet flats for the wedding. i don't think there's any glamor in falling down the stairs in a wedding gown and rey said that he wouldn't want our wedding video to end up in some tv show.
groom's attire - rey is responsible for this. he'll be the one wearing it, anyway. i'll bug him again early november.
father of the bride's attire - i already bought jusi for my father's barong but looking at it now, i feel that there's something better out there. i'll probably go on a trip to divisoria one of these days.
photographer and videographer - i've already met with and paid the downpayments to eddieboy escudero, john aguas and jason magbanua. rey's not too happy with the cost of the photos and videos but he couldn't complain as i'm the one paying for these services. i just need to give them final instructions sometime in november.
cake - bizu. my officemate, laxmi, is handling this. i just need to bug her sometime in october. rey and i have decided on the flavor (rainforest, the cake version of ferrero rocher. it's really yummy!) but we haven't decided on the presentation.
flowers - tecson flowers. rey volunteered to handle this.
musicians - done. we've already contacted mia, a friend who sings in lounges and jazz bars. we just need to send her our list of songs. we should do this by the end of july. i have to write her an e-mail before the week ends. i'm also helping a choir with their legal problems. they volunteered to sing for my wedding for free!
audio-visual presentation (avp) - still toying with the idea of flashing our pictures thru a projector during dinner while mia or the choir is singing. or should this be done during cocktails? if we do decide to have an avp, i'll have to start doing this next week. but first, i will have to find and learn a software for this. i guess i'll seek help from my fellow wawies.
sound system - done. we already paid the downpayment with sound syndrome. i just need to get balay kandila's requirements so i can finalize the package with elfren.
decor/styling - done. we already gave the downpayment to balay kandila. we also gave some of the materials for our centerpieces and we've seen the mock-ups for our floating glass bubbles. i've also given them the first batch of paper cranes. balay kandila promised the full mock-up by october. (i'm still thinking of looking for those round glass stones that are used in vases. what i usually see are the oval ones that are "rainbow reflectors".)
invites - we will be making our own invitations as we didn't find a printer that uses the paper that we wanted and that incorporates paper cranes in the design. we've made our mock-ups a few months ago and i'll start printing them once i confirmed the venues with mandarin. i've already started to fold the cranes but i still need to spray paint them in the exact shade that we want.
envelopes - i still need to contact the company that manufactures the paper that we want to see if they can make our envelopes. this should be done by the first week of august. if i have time, i'll have our envelopes lined. (i wonder if my helper can assist me on this one.)
souvenirs - we've decided on giving away double cd's. rey is compiling the songs for one cd, i'm responsible for the other. the songs in rey's cd are the ones that he likes to listen to while we're eating. the songs in my cd are the ones that i listen to at night. we've already found and met with the person (MG CD printing) that can meet rey's requirements and we told him that we'll give him the list of songs in august. as for the cd covers, we've already finalized the design for the front, we need to get rey's mazinger z model to a photographer for the back cover and we need a printer to execute our designs. this should be done by the second week of august.
gifts for parents - still looking!
program - still haven't done anything for this. we'll probably take care of this in november.
seating arrangements - done.
just making the list took me more than an hour! but i do feel better as i have the feeling that everything is under control.
193 days to go!
it's been a long time since my last (and first) blog.
my work load in the office is manageable and i'm not exactly the soul of efficiency for my other personal responsibilities but the past weeks have felt heavy and stressful for me.
every waking moment, i plan everything that i have to do for the day. but even if i accomplish everything in the list, at the end of the day, i still feel like there's a ton of things to do.
the stress is manifesting physically through back and shoulder pains and blemishes on my face. and the icing on the cake? i fell down a flight of stairs. i didn't trip, didn't miss a step, didn't twist my foot. i just fell. that has been almost a week ago but some parts of my right foot are still swollen. i just feel so . . . defective.
i guess i am falling victim to what is usually called as bridal stress.
so, to alleviate my stress, i've listed everything that i need to do for the wedding, what i've done so far and what i need to do. and all i've got to do is to make sure that i accomplish everything on the list on or before the deadlines. if i do all that, my back and shoulder pains will go away, my skin will clear up and my foot will heal in no time (I WISH!).
well, at least i can still sleep soundly at night. sigh.
my work load in the office is manageable and i'm not exactly the soul of efficiency for my other personal responsibilities but the past weeks have felt heavy and stressful for me.
every waking moment, i plan everything that i have to do for the day. but even if i accomplish everything in the list, at the end of the day, i still feel like there's a ton of things to do.
the stress is manifesting physically through back and shoulder pains and blemishes on my face. and the icing on the cake? i fell down a flight of stairs. i didn't trip, didn't miss a step, didn't twist my foot. i just fell. that has been almost a week ago but some parts of my right foot are still swollen. i just feel so . . . defective.
i guess i am falling victim to what is usually called as bridal stress.
so, to alleviate my stress, i've listed everything that i need to do for the wedding, what i've done so far and what i need to do. and all i've got to do is to make sure that i accomplish everything on the list on or before the deadlines. if i do all that, my back and shoulder pains will go away, my skin will clear up and my foot will heal in no time (I WISH!).
well, at least i can still sleep soundly at night. sigh.
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