DIY: Overseas Save-the-Date

I've mentioned before that we wanted to give our overseas friends ample time to prepare (and to think if they wanted to come to our wedding, haha) so we decided to send STD to our overseas friends more than a year before the wedding. In that way, they can plot their leaves, buy luggages, check for promo fares and do their other preparations.

So, my very own graphic artist came up with this STD. :)

The luggage colors represents our motif, the places were each of them are based is represented by the planes and the concept is basically an invitation to travel... for a wedding. :)

It will be printed on photo magnets and will be sent to them ASAP. We already contacted our supplier who will print the STDs and once we have it, we will begin sending it out.

Two DIYs done, gazillion more to go. :)

BOOKED: St. Benedict's Church

We went to SBC last year to book them when our wedding was set to this year but when it is move tho next year, we decided to just go back last weekend. We have set the schedule to be back and secure our slot prior to him asking for my hand formally. Last week J called SBC's contact number on their flyer. Red's number is unreachable. The other person listed there is not really friendly and according to her doesn't want to received calls regarding SBC and just call the office landline directly. I think they shouldn't have listed their numbers on the brochures if they don't want to be called.

So prior to going, J called their landline and asked if our slot is still available, lucky us, it is. YEY! When we arrived, there's still an on-going mass and there's no one at the office. The guy there asked us to wait after the mass. I noticed that the sound system improved since the last time we were there. From my post about SBC before, I said my main concern is really their sound system. I am very happy that it is fixed/replaced already. After the mass, the guy approached us and said to be back in the afternoon as the person in charge will be having his/her lunch break. Okaaaay.

We proceed to Tagaytay as that is our original plan. We will be having lunch at Bulalo Point. Our travel time is approximately 1 1/2 hours. After our late lunch (as we arrived there at around 2 PM), we headed back to SBC praying that we will make it. We arrived on time at around 30 minutes before closing.

The lady who attended to us is very nice and apologetic as she wasn't able to attend to us in the morning. She is so nice so OK na din the hassle that we go through that morning. She asked us to fill up the form and we paid the downpayment. She scheduled us for our Canonical Interview and voila! We are booked already. :) We really felt that the date is for us. Found out that there is only one more remaining time slot available on our chosen date and it is also the time we wanted. Thank God!

Personal Questionnaire for the Canonical Interview

Wedding Information Sheet

Down payment is Php5,000 plus another Php5,000 during the interview. The remaining balance should be paid 1 month before the wedding date.

A very productive weekend indeed. Got officially engaged on Friday, 2 Food Tastings on Saturday and secured our slot at SBC on Sunday.

Food Tasting #3: Queensland's

This is the saddest FT we had so far. I am seriously considering QLD prior to the FT. I was fervently hoping that it would turn out well because I have high hopes that I might get them. Yes, there are mixed reviews for QLD, some horror stories I couldn't even imagine. But I am a lurker to their FB page and I must say, the styling is at par with other suppliers out there. I've read somewhere that now, the daughter is the one managing the business that's why they offer styling already so I think that's one of the reasons why they are improving on their services.

So here goes our sad story. We contacted Michelle first week of April to schedule our FT. Due to the Holy Week, we end up getting the Apr 27 schedule. Days prior to the date, I called Michelle to inform her that we will be coming as a big group even though food tasting is only good for 2 persons. I told her we are preparing for 3 events (2 debuts + my wedding) and aside from the 6 pax, we might tag along 3 more pax totaling to 9 pax. She said we need to pay Php250 each extra person, I said no problem.

We arrive at Citadella Clubhouse at around 3:40-3:50. There was already a lot of people inside. We registered as 3 groups and paid 2 extra persons for the first group. The 3rd group decided that they will not avail of the extra person anymore. So we paid Php500.

Stub # 44-46 + 2 extra persons

 We are seated at the corner where the sun is glaring and I guess because the clubhouse is overflowing with people, the air-condition units are struggling to keep the hall cold enough. Getting food is by stub number. The buffet spread is positioned in an L-shape where one person will get from the right side then the other person will get from the left side. Extra person can get food from left to right. When it was our turn to get food, there's a couple of chaffing dish that are empty already. J asked one of the servers if he can go back once the chaffing dish are filled again. This server replied "yes, balik kayo next Sunday". @@ Aside from a lot of food running out, servings are so tiny. We never even get the chance to try the 1 dessert offered during that FT.

What was left on the left side of the buffet

the VERY SAD plate of one of my companions.
that's what's left on the right part of the buffet

the sad and untidy looking cream of pumpkin soup
(this is exactly how we got it from the buffet table)

To be fair, the food is not really bad. I particularly like the lengua, sotanghon, lasagna, chicken flambe (just the sauce and ham since I didn't get the chance to taste the chicken), roasted pork and mashed potato. But I really got disappointed with how our FT turned out.

We still waited for Michelle and discuss the packages. I found out they had price increase the day before the FT but it's only minimal (Php10 per package). I asked if we can try other dishes and she said what they offer in their weekly FT are fixed and doesn't change. She said they hold FT not to showcase their set up and different food offerings but to let guests taste their dishes. We are particularly eyeing the Diamond package and I asked about the other menus. She said we can arrange for a special FT where they will serve what I want to try but we have to pay for it and minimum is Php5,000 depending on the menu, good side is it's good for 10 persons.

QLD sadly doesn't get the vote of my companions, including J. But I want to give them a try again. Probably we will go to there an hour earlier to get the earliest slot and so we can try all the dishes on a decent serving. I was talking to a fellow W@W (hi sis Marriane!) and she said the couple on their table also paid for extra persons and since they are early, they get to try all the food and servings are big.

For now, still on the look out for other caterers.

BOOKED: Imbitado Events

We could have booked Ayie and her team right from the start even if we haven't met her yet. That's how much trust we have for her team. But the problem is we haven't finalized our date with SBC yet (we still haven't, up until now) so we pencil booked her first to secure our date. We have 1 month to secure the DP but we are so busy the past couple of weeks and we forgot about it. Good thing, I am free yesterday so we paid at BDO.

Paid DP

Wedding Guides

And we are officially an Imbitado couple. :)

2 Mobile Bars?

Prior to booking Margarush, we drop by GQ Mobile Bar's booth first just to try other options. We tried other mobile bars on the fair last November but we didn't liked it. Now with GQ Mobile, I've read many good reviews in W@W and GT about them. Not only are their drinks good but they also have cheap packages. I also mentioned that my bestfriend think I should just get a mobile bar and forego of Margarush to have varieties of drinks so for options, we checked GQ first. I asked the bartender for their margarita and although it is good din naman, it's not as suave as the one Margarush offers. Yung sa GQ kase "humahagod sa lalamunan" yung alcohol. Haha!

The owner and the bartender are both accommodating (not to mention the bartender is cute) Haha! The owner (sorry I forgot the name) said they're not strict with the number of persons in a package as long as there's supplies. They also accommodate "stop time" since the packages cover 4 hours only of unlimited drinks.

Aside from the margarita that I've requested, my cousin also requested for the Black Forest and they said it is good. My sister drink even the last drop. :)

Black Forest

The bartender concocted another cocktail for me which he said is their bestseller for the ladies. The Appletini is good, too. Tama nga yung mga nabasa kong reviews that their cocktails are good.

Appletini

I forgot to take a picture of the Margarita but all in all we tried 3 drinks lang. We ALMOST booked them prior to booking Margarush. But we decided to drop by Margarush first. Now we are torn... since we already booked Margarush (which I don't have any regrets), I also want GQ Mobile. Haha! Hindi pa ako drinker nyan ha. I just want our guests to have a good time. For now, on hold muna ang GQ until we can decide if we will get them as well. We will have to check with our budget first and will put it in our "nice to have" list muna for now.

W@W Pin

We dropped by the W@W booth at the last bridal fair and we are so happy to meet a couple of other w@wies and of course Mimma Benz! Nice set-up din and kuddos to those who designed the booth.

We weren't able to stay longer kase madami pa kami hindi naiikutan na aisles. But it was fun talking to other w@wies even if it's just for a short period of time. Everyone seems kind and bubbly.

Thanks to sis Dheng and Ivy for the pin!

Pencil Booked: Imbitado Events

We thought we can pull the wedding off without the help of coordinators. After all, we have friends and cousins who can assist us on the day itself. But w@w help me realize that coordinators can make or break your wedding. We will be spending a huge amount of money and effort for this wedding so might as well invest in a good and reputable coordinator to help us.

We have met a couple of coordinators during the bridal fair in Megamall last November and we (I personally) liked a few. I tried searching for feedbacks in w@w and GT regarding them but no reviews (either good or bad) came up. So I decided to look for other coordinators with good reviews. 

So we bump into Imbitado Events. I have read TONS of reviews about them in w@w and GT and not a single negative one, all are positive and full of praises for Ms. Ayie's team. I decided to shoot her an email and she replies fast (+ point!). Her rates are not the most affordable in the market but I wouldn't mind as long as kampante ako that she will deliver. 

Here's her rates and inclusions:

I discussed this with J and he gives the "go signal" to pencil book them to reserve our date. I told J I wanted to book our coordinator first before booking other suppliers so she can assist us and give feedbacks on our shortlisted suppliers. I want our team to have camaraderie so our wedding will be smooth sailing. We couldn't book her yet as we need to go back to SBC first to confirm our slot. At least we have 1 month before we confirm with Ms. Ayie. Also, J wanted to meet her personally first before finalizing everything. He wanted to know if we will "click". We haven't decided yet if we will get her hosting service as we want to see samples of her hosting skills. She invited us to watch one of her events and then we will decide.

So yesterday, we pencil booked her and she replied with the contract for our perusal.

I am happy that we got to book her (even if it's not final yet) because I trust her and I've read so many good reviews about her and her team. =)

Initial Draft of Entourage List

When we first do a mock entourage list months ago, we came out with almost 60 persons all-in-all considering we originally are only looking for 4 pairs of PS, the big chunk goes to the BM and GM (both of us coming from a big group of barkada) . Now for our first real draft, we already have 7 pairs of PS so we decided to cut off the numbers of BM & GM. We still have a couple of blank spots that we have to fill but we're really having a hard time trimming down the list.

It was hard to decided who and who not to include. It was hard erasing and tallying. Not to mention this is only a draft of the entourage and we are not on the guest list yet. LOL

We already informed overseas friends regarding our wedding to give them ample time to plot their leaves and vacations. Especially that some people on our entourage will be coming overseas.

Most probably we will update the list mid of this year to fill in or change (i hope not) the list.

Small details but hey! we're moving.. =)

Resume Planning

Image courtesy of www.wildapricot.com

It's been a while since I last posted. Well, I enjoyed the holidays and since we have moved our date, I decided to just sit back and take my time. :)

Now, I'm back to planning mode! :) Wasn't able to go to all the bridal fairs this month although I have pre-registered months ago. But hopefully, will start attending bridal fairs again starting next month.

Oh, and it's J and I's 88th monthsary today. Cheesy! But we still celebrate it every month..

 

Change of Plans

We are set to get married December of next year. But sudden change of plans. Little side kwento first, as I have mentioned on my previous post, my mom and my titas are based overseas. J and I are already talking and (sort of) planning our wedding but I haven't formally told my mom yet. Well apparently, J sneaked behind my back and called mama last month. She told me weeks after, while I was making kwento to her that J and I are talking about settling down that J already called her and asked for her blessings. And she gave her blessings. (yey!)

Now, since Mama and my titas are based abroad, they usually come home every August or December (mostly August). So they already reserved a ticket for August next year. We also had plans already on where to go on August for our yearly family vacation. And though she said it's OK if they will not go home on August and just go home on December for the wedding, I don't want it naman. So J and I had the talk again on whether we will push through with the wedding next year or set it to 2015. And we decided that we will move it to December 2015. So that Mama and my titas will go home August 2014 (as what's the original plan) and instead of  August 2015, they will come home for our December for the wedding. 

2 years of preparation. A part of me is thinking it is too long but I know time passes by so quickly so that wouldn't be that long anymore.

I think there's also a good side in having a December 2015 wedding. More time to save, more time to look for THE suppliers, more single time :)...

W@W Auction 2013

It was my first time to bid for the W@W Auction and it was really fun. I didn't get the chance to bid for the major suppliers because my wedding will be on a peak season but I was able to bid for a "nice to have" and I was really happy to get it.

Grabbed from @hangstylemanila IG account

Copy of the confirmation email from Ms. Benz

Paid!

J and I are really happy we got this "nice to have" item. It was slowly sinking in that we are really preparing already.

Reception Hunting: Ayala Westgrove Heights

Since we are getting married (hopefully) in St. Benedict Church, we are looking for reception venues near the area. It would have been nice to have reception in Tagaytay but I think the travel time is too long already. So for now, we are scouting clubhouses, private properties for rent, hotels around Sta. Rosa.

We weren't able to see the clubhouse of Ayala Westgrove Heights because according to the guards, you need to have a sponsor to rent it and your sponsor will be the one to contact the office and schedule for an ocular. It would have been nice to have your reception here because proximity-wise, isang tumbling lang 'to from St. Benedict Church.

How near?

We're standing on the grounds of St. Benedict Church while taking pictures of the entrance of Ayala Westgrove Heights so it's really near.

Photo courtesy of http://ayalalandproperty.com 

Photo courtesy of http://www.everra.net

I still hope we can have this on the list of our options because not only is it adjacent to St. Benedict Church, it also look beautiful.

Food Tasting #1: Quido's

I bumped into Quido's sa Girltalk. Upon checking their packages, I must say they are one of the cheapest. I search reviews about them and all are good naman. Plus factor is that their chairs are already tiffany at no ADDITIONAL cost (maximum of 150 pax). Eh non-negotiable ni J ang tiffany chairs. So I emailed Ms. Gina and scheduled a food tasting.

It happened yesterday at the Madrigal Gallery beside ATC. When we arrived, they are still prepping the area and there's another group doing their food tasting too. Wendy assisted me and showed me around.

Presidential Table Set-up

Couple's Backdrop

Buffet Set-up

Table Set-up

Wendy said the couple availed the Standard Package. So the above photos are all included in their basic styling. She said they only have one color for the table cloth (for the round ones) which is cream but they have vast collection of colors for the table runners. Plus they don't limit the number of persons for the VIP table. Some caterers kase usually have maximum allowable number.

J's concern is that the tiffany chairs (of course!) looks worn out na. If you are not maselan, ok naman yung chairs nila. It's just that J really wanted tiffany chairs so I think yun talaga yung pinansin nya. My cousin who accompanied us said she thinks the set-up looks plain and basic. Well, basic/standard package naman kase 'to. Wendy said I can show them my peg and they can try to replicate it. And if premium package naman yung iaavail, there are pricier flowers to choose from din.

Now for the food tasting part, we were ushered to a table outside the venue. When we arrived, they asked kung ilan daw kami. There were 3 iced teas, 3 waters & 3 salad on the table but when the plated food was presented by the head chef, it was only for 2 persons. I thought they made a mistake but 2 lang talaga yung sinerve although the other group na nagfofood tasting din (4 pax) have plates each. Nahiya lang ako sa cousin ko kase I invited her for her opinion. But partly, it's my fault na din 'coz I didn't confirm kung ilan kami. She did not asked din naman kase kaya I thought they're not strict sa number of pax. We ended up sharing a plate.

Salad/Appetizer

Reminds me of Wendy's salad because of the jelly. Taste wise, OK naman. Typical garden salad with lettuce, corn, cheese, cucumber and thousand island dressing.

Clockwise starting from Pasta: Fettuccine Carbonara, Roast Beef, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Fish Fillet with Sweet n' Sour Sauce, Buttered Veggies 

Mixed reviews kami for the pasta. We all love carbonara so excited kaming tatlo to taste this. J and my cousin think its bland. For me naman, sakto lang sya. Not dry, not runny din naman. Pasta is not overcooked. Yun lang, sabi nila matabang daw.

Next is the Roast Beef. Malambot yung karne and malasa naman. OK din yung serving size nya. Pasado sya samin tatlo.

For the Chicken Cordon Bleu, favorite din namin ang Cordon Bleu but this one's different. The usual Cordon Bleu that we know and make is chicken with ham and cheese inside. But their version has ham and peppers that changed the flavors (in an interesting twist). I loved peppers so OK sakin that I can taste the peppers in every bite. OK din sya for J but my picky cousin (haha!) said so-so lang sya.

We would prefer our fish fillet to be served with tartar or ranch sauce so hindi namin masyado naappreciate yung dish. Although the chef said they have other sauces to choose from naman. Sauce aside, hindi malansa yung fillet and hindi oily although hindi nadin sya crunchy maybe because nababad na sya sa sauce.

Buttered Veggies. Medyo hindi sya masayang tingnan and hindi din crunchy yung veggies. Plus, meron syang kalabasa which is unusual. I did not finish it but J did. He said so-so lang yung dish. If we ever get Quido's, I would get a different veggie dish.

I did not eat the rice (diet lang,haha!) but it looks masarap naman. Hindi mukha yung mura bigas lang.

Mango Jelly

Standard package offer 1 dessert only. Good thing, 3 Mango Jelly naman yung binigay samin. We often make Mango Sago (almost same with Mango Jelly but with Sago) at home and it wouldn't last long so we're excited to try this. Unfortunately, its not that cold when they served it. But taste wise, ok naman sya. Not too matamis, not matabang naman. Meron nga lang mga mango na maasim pa (not their fault naman). Serving wise, medyo maliit yung shot glass nila. I forgot to ask if my guests can go back for more desserts.

Quido's is still on our list but we are not booking them yet. We'll schedule food tasting with other caterers muna before we decide.

Quido's Catering
Ms. Gina Napolis 0917-5747202
http://www.quidosgrill.com/index.html

Setting the date

We know for sure that we want a December wedding. There's just something in it that really spell "romantic". Not that we are a mushy couple but deep inside we are a romantic couple.

Photo courtesy of http://www.allabouthappylife.com

Aside from that, I love the Yuletide season. The smell, the sounds, the festive mood, the food! Something about Christmas makes everyone happy. :) Planning for a December wedding is such a breeze to me. I just know that every aspect of my wedding would spell C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S.

Photo courtesy of  http://www.iwalk4love.com

My mom and aunts are based in Paris and they only get to be home either August or December. August is J's birth month BUT it is also a ghost month (Haha!) so I don't want an August wedding. So December it is.

Now for the date, our anniversary is Sept. 24 so we arrived at December 24. :) That is not yet final but we are almost sure that we want a December 24 wedding. Lots of things to consider pa such as my mom and aunt's arrival, guests who can come for a Christmas eve wedding, supplier's price for a December wedding (not to mention a Christmas eve!) and other logistics. But God-willing, plans will push through for a December 24 wedding.